EDIT: The ones I love are all important to me. Who do I love? Well, myself and my family of course. Did you expect me to say you? SWG probably would have, but I'm just the editor.

Wow! The number of reviews and feedback I got for the last chapter was insane! That's incredible guys, I really appreciate all of you taking the time to review. I had thought my phone was going crazy because within the hour of posting I had gotten like 4 reviews and they just kept coming after that! There were more reviews for the last chapter alone than all of the other chapters collectively. I guess I should ask you all more questions to get some good reviews, hm?

As for your answers to the question I asked last chapter, looks like there's a massive spread of opinions in each direction, here's a short list of the opinions gathered from the reviews (As of writing, where those asking for both Rin and Sakura are counted as one vote to each girl):

Rin: 13

Sakura: 10

Illya: 4

I was shocked reading the first few reviews that wanted Illya to pair with Shirou. At the time I was drinking water and I might have choked a tad. I hadn't expected it due to the fact that it's technically incest, but I suppose it's not really... I think the police are at my door.

I've messaged as many of the reviewers as I had time and I had quite a long chat with a few of them! {You know who you are} They provided good insight and ideas that I've capitalized on so a special thanks to all of you for aiding the creation of this fic.

As a last note, before I let you all read the next chapter, I would like you all to thank my Beta, Talndir, for getting the proofing of this chapter done for you all to read! I don't want you to flood their inbox with private messages, but a little note at the bottom of your review (when you leave one - and you better!) would be much appreciated!


Shirou floated gently in the darkness of his own mind. It looked like Rin had been right once again, he wasn't very bright. Although, that depending on one's definition of the word "bright". Much of his mind was empty and black. That being said, he could still see himself and everything here with him. A quick thought and his magic circuits revealed themselves in front of his very eyes. Some lines were crossed, some were shattered and sparks arced off another group. He could think, that was what he was doing right now, but he couldn't do anything else. There was no physical sense, no being.

It was rather concerning when he thought about it. He was trapped without any real clue what his physical body was experiencing. For all he knew, he was dead and this was what awaited the living after they expired. Shirou half expected a large screen to come down from above to begin showing him his entire life. It was far from impossible, considering something just like that had taken place a few moments ago.

Shirou had learned everything stored within his father's journal. The Grail War, the servants, the masters, the actions, the dreams and the end had been etched into his mind like the words scrawled into the journal itself. This knowledge didn't end with the War. Shirou had traced his father's journal. As in, sympathized with the creator. Every thought Kiritsugu had while he was writing had been embedded in the words. He had traced books before. Books were copied hundreds of times autonomously by machines. There was no "creator" because nobody had actually written the words. He had never traced hand-written books before and he certainly hadn't traced three entire years of material. The transfer of information had been like one of those weird dystopian films where pictures and short clips flashed in front of Shirou's forced-open eyes. Each passing second had sent shocking pain through him as his brain and body struggled to balance the flow of information and mana.

Kiritsugu's emotions, his ideas, his plans, his hypotheses and his fears were made as clear as glass. Shirou had always joked to himself about knowing the man better than he knew himself. Now he was absolutely confident in the expression. Shirou also realized how wrong he had been. He had always thought the old man had been simple and easy to read. He was actually operating on another level entirely. Through the entire War, Kiritsugu had plans for every occasion. Something else entirely was hiding in the background, however.

Kiritsugu was scared. Each step, each turn and each action he had been worried. It hadn't been for his own safety, not once had he ever considered himself through the entire War. Each thought had been of Illya and of another he frequently wrote about. Shirou had never heard the name before, but it had practically been burned into his mind after tracing the journal: Irisviel von Einzbern.

She had been his wife and the entire situation between the two was complex to say the least. They had loved one another more than Shirou could understand. Unfortunately, Irisviel - or Iri as the old man called her - had been fated to die in the Grail War. She was the Grail so there was nothing Kiritsugu could do short of keeping Avalon within her, but even that would only delay the inevitable.

That was right, Shirou knew of Avalon as well. That bright golden light set in the distance of his own mind apparently had a name. It was the relic of King Arthur, the servant known as Saber. It was also what saved him after the Great Fire and it was what healed him each time he got any cuts or bruises. Shirou had always thought his body was unnaturally good at healing. Knowing the name of the device that had fixed him up time and time again, Shirou found that he could actually summon its image within his mind. A truly gorgeous scabbard made of gleaming gold and royal blue. The scabbard was something of fascination for him before the thought of what he had learned brought his mind back on track.

Throughout the War, Kiritsugu had always thought of his family. His decisions had always been to protect them, or to at least hide them away, while he fought to grant the wish that would ultimately save them. The wish for a world without conflict where they could live together in peace.

Kiritsugu's wish was never realized. The Grail was corrupt and any wish given to it would be altered to cause the most suffering possible. A servant had been the one to inform him of the disheartening news. That same servant, Caster, had been the one to steal Saber with means unknown so he could destroy the Grail and themselves in one motion.

Speaking of Caster, whenever he was brought up, Kiritsugu's thoughts differed greatly from what he had written down. In writing, he had made himself seem ignorant of the servant and seemed to purposely leave out details others would have made sure to capture. This hadn't always been the case. In earlier entries, Kiritsugu had tried to capture everything he could and had described the servant in detail. Suddenly, after one of his dreams, the details fell off. The old man was hiding something and even though he was reading Kiritsugu's mind, Shirou couldn't fully tell what it was. His thoughts while writing were seemingly nonsense rambling over having to "keep it hidden until the time is right" and the like.

Shirou didn't know what "it" was and he was unsure on whether or not he wanted to. If Kiritsugu had decided on keeping a secret, it was probably for the better. Like his history as the Magus Killer and his heinous actions during the Grail War. His past was written in the book as well as his mind. He didn't know the full extent of his father's history, but Shirou knew enough to frighten him.

Beyond the Grail War, Shirou learned about Illya, Rin and Sakura. Illya was his sister, but she was also so much more than that. She was the first of her kind, a child born of a homunculus. A homunculus was a sort of lab experiment grown and raised by the Einzbern. These homunculi would act as the body for the forming Grail. This system was designed after the Third Grail War as the original method of using a normal chalice was deemed too dangerous. An inanimate object couldn't defend itself but a "human" could. It meant that Illya would act as the Grail for the next War. Kiritsugu guessed that even if she survived, she only had around twenty years to live and he wasn't betting on her surpassing that. Rin lost her father to his own servant and Kiritsugu had dealt the killing blow. She would also fight in the next Holy Grail War against Illya. Both were from magus families which created the War. That meant they would both be selected as masters. It was why Kiritsugu had specifically told Shirou not to reveal the contents of his journal to Rin. Rin believed the next Grail War would begin in around fifty-six years, not only six. If she knew that Illya would be a competitor, that she was training her future enemies and showing them how to kill her in combat, she would leave and never speak to either of them again.

Then he learned of Sakura, the most unfortunate of them all. She had been given away from the Tohsaka family to the Matou. It was apparently to protect her, but who in their right mind would call endless torture and abuse protection? Just thinking about it sent a pang of sorrowful rage coursing through his body. She had been Rin's sister, it was why the two seemed to be on eggshells around one another. Neither of them was willing to admit what had happened, neither was willing to do anything about their situation. Kiritsugu had tried, he had done his absolute best. He had purged the worms within the girl, he had personally watched over her but somehow the Matou head - Zouken - had tracked her down. Kiritsugu hadn't even tried to fight the worm, he had just given the girl back without a fight.

Shirou had been upset with his father over his complacency but after coming to understand his reasons, it was directed elsewhere. Kiritsugu had let the worm take Sakura because he had no way of truly killing the Matou head. Kiritsugu would endlessly fight an innumerable amount of insects and possible magecraft in a vain attempt at keeping a single girl safe. If he could even repel such a force, he would be condemned to being vigilant the rest of his life and he wouldn't be able to let her out of his sight for a moment. Rather than torture the two of them in such a way, Kiritsugu decided to take a minor loss. This way, Kiritsugu could try to devise a way to actually kill the worm-user rather than just stall him.

Every detail and experience had crammed into Shirou's brain and made him feel as if he had aged several years over the course of a few seconds. The endeavour hadn't altered his personality at least. Shirou still despised his father's methods. This hatred didn't transfer to the man himself at least. Shirou was capable of separating the "art" from the "artist" as it were. Killing innocents was the foulest act Shirou could think of, but Kiritsugu had done his best throughout the War to keep casualties to an absolute minimum. Shirou had wondered if there had been any other way, but he was operating on a limited amount of information. Perhaps the old man's choices had been the best. The old man hadn't killed anyone who wasn't involved, he hadn't even started the Great Fire so he couldn't even be blamed for those deaths either.

There was one person in the journal who sickened Shirou. She was cold, heartless and was prepared to do everything Kiritsugu hesitated on. Maiya, the same name that had been engraved on the pistols Kiritsugu had gifted him. She was important to him, she had sacrificed herself for him. The strange contradiction of heartless sociopathy and caring devotion towards his father left Shirou confused. Besides caring for his father, she was a cold assassin. He couldn't condone the actions of a contract killer, someone who felt the ends always justified the means.

Only… His father was an assassin like that too, wasn't he?

… … …

… … …

… … …

"-in!" Came a shout from outside her room. The girl stirred beneath the thick blanket but otherwise remained still. Rin had decided on using one of the two westernized rooms of the Emiya household. She was more familiar with an actual bed seeing as how that was what she slept in at her own home. Futons seemed uncomfortable to her. How could anyone get a good night's rest lying on the floor?

"Rin!"

Was that her name? She was probably just imagining it. She had only been asleep for a couple hours. Who would want her in the middle of the night? She was probably just caught in that strange place between being awake and asleep.

Then the door was practically kicked down. "Rin, wake up!" In an instant, she was upright and wide-eyed, looking around with confusion. Her eyes eventually identified Kiritsugu and her brain processed the information with some delay. His face held an emotion she had never seen before and his voice was panicked. She had never seen so much emotion from the man, which was enough to terrify Rin. Something bad must have happened. Then her eyes landed on Shirou's limp form in his arms. Her drowsy state vanished in an instant as her heart sank.

Illya skidded into the room like a white bolt of lightning. "What's with all the sho- Shirou!" she gasped, watching her father lay the boy on the floor. "What happened to him?" Her eyes seemed glazed and both hands moved to her chest, gripping at her heart over the white nightgown. Rin made the first move, throwing the blanket off herself before moving to the ground beside Shirou. Illya moved as well, trying to get a better look of her brother.

"What happened to him?" Rin asked, grabbing onto his face and opening his eyelids. His eyes seemed empty and glazed over as if he were a fish that had been sitting out a little too long.

"Shirou has been using his nerves as magic circuits since he started magecraft." That was a bad start. If there had been a problem when Shirou tried to convert one of his nerves, the resulting domino effect would cripple his body and send him into a vegetative state. The entire reason converting nerve endings into circuits was so dangerous was due to the body itself. Nerves were direct connections to the entire nervous system. If the process failed and the nervous system connected to the body's magic circuits, even for a brief moment, one would fry out the other. They were just like electrical circuits without any sort of fuse to protect them. If you connected the circuits together, one would overpower the other and burn it out. "But that isn't what's hurting him right now." Rin let out a breath she hadn't known she'd had held in. "Shirou activated his magic circuits after I helped him out. He started tracing things then made a noise and fell over," Kiritsugu recalled. Illya gave her father a look that told Rin he was hiding something. The girl's ability at detecting lies from Kiritsugu was uncanny. Even Sakura, someone who could usually see straight through people, had trouble with Kiritsugu. She had claimed that it was much easier when she was younger.

If Shirou hadn't been using his circuits at all since they started training in magecraft, a sudden activation of his actual circuits might have caused his body to go into shock. It wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't been using them at the time. "What did he trace?" Rin decided to ask. She was hoping he hadn't strained himself otherwise he might have demolished his circuits entirely.

Kiritsugu shuffled nervously, moving the boy's hair from his face with a pained expression. "A journal of mine and the house, possibly."

"A journal?" Rin asked, blinking in confusion. "Handwritten by you?" she asked, getting a short nod. "When did you start writing it?" she asked, motioning for Illya to come closer. "Your surface healing won't work, you'll have to look deep inside to heal his body from the inside out. It won't fix him at this point but it might keep him from getting worse," Rin guided, still waiting for an answer.

"About three years ago," Kiritsugu admitted with some shame.

"Are you an idiot!?" Rin had an outburst, words spewing out of her mouth before the filter in her mind could catch them.

Kiritsugu shut his eyes, back straightening to move his body out of the way. "I didn't know of the effects it could have."

"I should have made you read Fundamentals of Magecraft," Rin mumbled with a shake of her head. She placed both hands on either side of Shirou's face and closed her eyes to try and determine how much damage had been caused. "Shirou's tracing ability looks beyond just the surface of the object. He looks beyond the material and into the creator so he can pick up on flaws only those intimately familiar with the object's construction can see. It's why he's better at reinforcement than I am. He probably had to see you each time you made an entry. That much information is way too much for anyone to handle," Rin described. If the way he twitched was any indication, the thought had never crossed his mind.

Rin sighed. "His circuits are a mess. They're bundled up and shorting out. Some of them don't even connect to anything at all. What makes it worse is that his body is still trying to use them." The girl hummed and furrowed her brow. "But…there's no damage?" she asked, seeming surprised. "Illya, have you healed anything yet?"

The albino shook her head - not that Rin could even see on account of her closed eyes. "I haven't found anything, he should be fine." She was beginning to panic more than her father. If Rin didn't handle the situation quickly, she was going to have two people breaking down due to fear. There was a reason emergency instructions told people not to panic.

"I'll do what I can to fix his circuits, but it's not as easy as it sounds. I'll need somewhere quiet to work and a lot of time." Rin removed her hands from the boy and looked to the other girl in the room. "Illya, in the shed out back is a book Shirou borrowed. It's called Operations and Analysis of Magical Circuitry, can you go grab it for me?" Rin didn't need to say it twice. After a short nod, the girl bolted out the door to retrieve the book.

"Kiritsugu, can you carry Shirou to his room? I'll put on some clothes quickly and be right there." Rin had no idea if this ailment was time sensitive or not but she wasn't prepared to make any gambles. Moving quickly while the older Emiya moved his son, Rin threw on some decent clothes over her pyjamas and moved through the open doors into Shirou's room. She was taken aback for a second at how clean and empty it was.

There were only three entire objects in the space: a futon, a desk with a small lamp and a small wardrobe. Simple things for a simple boy, she supposed. Kiritsugu had laid him on top of the futon so he could at least be comfortable. The older man was murmuring something Rin couldn't pick out. He seemed to be on the edge of a mental collapse.

"Thank you, I can take it from here."

"I'm staying," he responded before she could even finish speaking.

Rin frowned. She could tell him that she needed silence so she could concentrate and hear Shirou's breathing but was there any use? Kiritsugu was a very stubborn man like his son. Whenever either of them settled on a goal, there was no stopping them. Rin decided not to comment on the matter, moving to kneel at Shirou's side.

"I've never done this before," she admitted. "I have no idea how this is going to turn out." It probably wasn't the best thing to hear when someone's life was on the line. At least it was honest.

Rin thought she heard the sound of teeth grinding against each other. As Kiritsugu opened his mouth to speak, Illya burst through the door. "Nobody told me you were in a different room!" she complained, jogging up to hand Rin the thick book.

Rin flipped it open to a page that held a green sticky note. "Shirou borrowed this book to learn more about how magic circuits work. It also has instructions on how to repair damaged circuits and some other useful information I'll need. If Shirou thought his circuits were damaged, he might have tried to fix them by himself. Hopefully, the idiot just did some reading." Rin flipped through the pages trying to find whatever she was looking for. Her voice was a mumble as she read headers and brief passages of the material. It took a few seconds but eventually, a page on fixing circuit flow caught her attention.

Rin tapped the page twice with her index finger. "Got it." Her head lifted to Illya who was slightly panting from her run. "Illya, you'll have to wait outside. I need to listen to Shirou's breathing, not yours." Illya seemed to have a brief moment of conflict in her mind before deciding the more experienced magus was right. With her out of the room, Rin began to follow the instructions.

… … …

… … …

Illya gently cracked the door to Shirou's room open. He was still unconscious even a whole day after the event. He was lying face up on the futon with his bare chest exposed. Rin had said it was a necessary step but Illya figured she had just wanted to see him without a shirt on. She had peeked into the door while the girl had worked that night, her hands had been all over her brother.

Pouting, she nudged the door open wider with her hip. In her hands was a tray holding tea, water and some snack-type foods. Rin had recommended it all, saying he would feel drained upon waking up. Yesterday she had done the same, leaving the tray in case he awoke.

Settling the tray down off to his side, Illya stood and looked over her brother. It was odd to see him so fragile and defenceless when he was usually so strong. He took beatings from a man twice his size but always got back up even when he was more bruise than boy. When Rin punched him, or even when she hit him with a shot from Zelle or Storch Ritter, he always picked himself up regardless of his wounds. She had personally watched him continue fighting with a broken arm as if the injury didn't even bother him.

She admired his stubbornness and actually tried to emulate it in her competition with Rin. Illya tried her best to replicate every spell Rin could perform. The only thing she couldn't emulate were spells she couldn't actually see. Magecraft that never actualized anything, like reinforcement, projection and the spells Rin had used to fix Shirou the other night. It had taken some time to find a healing spell that she could learn. Most spells worked through touch, but the spell Illya had learned healed a zone in front of her hands. It could be used to heal internal injuries through touch but the focus was primarily on exterior wounds.

Sighing, the homunculus turned to leave the room. As she reached the door she thought she heard a shuffle from behind. Her heart rate jumped in surprise as she turned to see if Shirou was awake. The expression faltered as she realized her ears were just playing tricks on her.

Nothing had moved, he was still out of it.

Then there was an unmistakable grunt. "Shirou!" In a blur, she slid to his side and peered down at his face. He hadn't moved but his eyes were open and they looked around the room in confusion. She was so happy he had woken up that she had wrapped her arms around him in a hug without even thinking.

"What happened? Illya?" he asked quietly with a scratchy throat.

"You hurt yourself you big dummy, everyone was so worried about you because we thought you were going to die or that you weren't going to wake up." She reached up to move a strand of hair from her face, smiling warmly at her stupid brother. She noticed that he hadn't moved, that he hadn't even tried to reciprocate the embrace she had offered. His face scrunched up and his body seemed to stiffen as if every muscle had activated at once.

"I-I can't feel anything."

The colour and happiness drained from Illya's face. "What do you mean?" she asked, grabbing onto his hand and lifting it slightly. She gently tried tossing his hand, watching it rise and fall back onto her own like a limp noodle.

"Did you touch me? My hand moved but I didn't move it." His hand lifted higher out of her grasp without warning. He brought it in front of his face while Illya breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment there, she'd been worried he'd turned into a vegetable.

Illya turned her head and shouted towards the door for her father. She turned back towards Shirou and adjusted the hair hanging over his face affectionately. "You strained yourself and ended up almost putting yourself into a coma. Rin thought you wouldn't wake up for weeks." She had been able to explain it better after her excitement died down some.

Her brother grunted, sitting up on his elbows very slowly. He was moving like a robot and it took him two tries to position his elbows in a spot that supported his weight. "It's a real wonder then." Illya was confused by what he meant by that.

Kiritsugu peeked in from the door, face splitting into a warm smile. "You're alright, I'm so glad. How are you feeling?" he asked, expression holding while his son returned a look of apprehension. It was as if it was the first time Shirou had ever met him.

Realizing that something was asked of him, Shirou looked down at himself and tested his legs by lifting them one after another. "My entire body is numb, I can't feel anything. I guess I really did a number on myself this time." The boy rolled over onto his front and carefully pushed himself onto his feet with the help of Illya. He wobbled then seemed to balance himself. "I don't know if I should use my circuits anymore," he mumbled. He tried to take a step forward, but all sense of balance went out the window and he collapsed right onto Illya.

Making a surprised noise as he fell, the small girl pushed out her arms to try and stop him before being crushed on the floor. Sprawled out underneath him, she wheezed as the air was forced from her lungs. "H-heavy!" Illya whined. Shirou struggled to get off her, frantically apologizing as he did.

Kiritsugu held a soft smile as he watched. "Shirou, you don't have to give up your magecraft yet. Tohsaka said you should be fine to use your circuits whenever you want. You just had a slight short after activating your circuits because of their disuse. It shouldn't happen again." He took a step back from the door. "If you're looking for someone to thank, thank the Tohsaka girl."

With that, he left the two siblings alone. Illya was eventually freed from Shirou who started looking down at himself as if for the first time. Illya sat back on her legs as she watched him examine his limbs and body. He pinched the back of his hand and poked at his own chest. After a while, she spoke up. "You were only out of it for two days, not two years."

He looked up at his sister with confusion, face softening into something almost like sadness. "Right, I should just get over this. It's just strange…"

Illya blinked in surprise. "What's gotten into you, big brother?" she asked, shuffling closer to him to examine his face better. She didn't want him lying to her and the easiest way to find out if he was was by reading his face. Every thought was written on it, plain as day.

The two locked eyes and shared a moment of silence. Why was there such a resounding sense of sadness in his eyes? "It's nothing, just thinking about some things."

"You can't use that excuse every time to get past my lie detection." Illya pouted, crossing her arms defiantly over her chest.

Shirou chuckled, glancing at the floor before back up into her crimson eyes. "Do you think homunculi can still be princesses?"

… … …

… … …

It took a good week before Shirou fully regained feeling through his entire body. He had been able to walk around and go to school but he had been banned from the kitchen after his first attempt at cooking. Because he couldn't really feel what he was grabbing, he had cut himself three times trying to finish the first dish. Illya had gotten tired of healing the wounds and had called Sakura over to take over the kitchen duties for a while.

The girl had been more than happy and had actually elected to stay in the house while Shirou got better. She cooked, cleaned and even tried to bathe him. Shirou quickly shot the last prospect down with some embarrassment. Just because his sense of touch didn't work didn't mean he would drown in a bathtub or that he couldn't clean himself, or the house for that matter.

Unable to cook and being forced out of housekeeping, Shirou actually felt guilty and anxious. He'd had no idea how much household chores relaxed him until he couldn't do them anymore.

Training still happened every two days, although Shirou's training was strictly limited to magecraft. With his circuits functioning properly, spells came to him a little easier. He was nowhere near the level of Illya or Rin but he could at least cast simple ease-of-life spells. Making flame or water in his hand was no longer a herculean task. An area he improved greatly in was reinforcement. With mana so easy to access now, he outclassed Rin greatly.

When he had shown her a pipe he'd reinforced to be harder than titanium, she had smiled. It wasn't a friendly congratulatory smile, but something rueful and full of evil. A sickening feeling of dread washed over him whenever she looked like that. He just knew that she would do something evil whenever that damned smile came around.

Shirou was right. After claiming he had been holding out on her, she sent him to fight wolves with only the clothes on his back and a rolled up newspaper for a weapon. At least it was summer so he wouldn't freeze in the cold. And with his newfound skills, he wouldn't be defenceless and hungry.

Wolf was very tough meat, both to cook and eat.

… … …

Shirou creaked open the door to the shed. Looking behind himself to ensure he wasn't being followed, he stepped in and closed the door behind him.

He couldn't sleep again. It wasn't because of the usual nightmares but something else. Since he learned the name behind the golden glow in the back of his mind, it had been calling to him. Like Illya whenever he tried to relax, it jumped into his face and tried to make him do something.

The boy was hesitant to obey the Arthurian scabbard. It was almost as if the artifact wanted to be removed. Like it didn't fit inside him and it needed to be with someone else. Kiritsugu had supposedly transferred it to him during the Great Fire to keep him alive. From what Kiritsugu had written down, Saber would be nearly invincible were she to take hold of it again. With her energy feeding the scabbard, its regenerative properties were bolstered tenfold. Gashes, broken bones and even mutilated limbs restored themselves to full functionality within seconds. Without her energy, scrapes and cuts healed within hours rather than instantly. Even though Avalon was telling him to remove it from his body, something else was telling him to keep it there with matching intensity. Shirou felt like he was in the midst of a tug-of-war.

When he pictured the scabbard in his mind, it was almost like he could actually hold it within his hands. Shirou considered how he could appease both sides. How could he simultaneously actualize Avalon while keeping the relic within his own body?

In her teachings, Rin had spoken briefly about "projection" magecraft. It used fundamentals and properties from reinforcement magecraft in a more advanced way. When she had gone over it, she claimed it to be entirely ineffective and useless as a field of magecraft. Shirou had actually agreed were her on the matter after she explained herself.

Projection magecraft was similar to using a photocopier. Using mana, a second copy of an original item was created. Usually, the item was inferior in some way and it typically dematerialized within minutes or even seconds.

But a minute was all Shirou and Avalon wanted. The former wanted to hold the beautiful scabbard in his own hands while the latter wanted to be realized within the world once more. Kiritsugu had written that Avalon was a relic of the "Fae". Whoever they were, would Shirou be able to reproduce it properly? Before he could even consider projecting a powerful artifact like Avalon, he would need to work on his aria and try projecting simple things. If he wasn't careful using magecraft, he might have a repeat of that night with Kiritsugu's journal.

Kneeling on the cold stone floor of the shed, Shirou picked up a simple pipe. There was a surprising abundance of pipe around here. Shirou had no idea where it came from, but he imagined Kiritsugu had something to do with it.

Holding the pipe in one hand, he closed his eyes. Just like his father had taught him, Shirou imagined the hammer of a gun coming down to strike the firing pin. His circuits came alive as the gunpowder of an imaginary bullet went off. "Trace on."

The wireframe of the pipe popped into his mind. Since his circuits had activated, designs of traced objects came to him much faster. One step done, onto the second. "Examining composite material." From the bottom to the top, the wireframe filled with metal and became a real object he could realize.

Shirou stopped before moving forward with the projection part of things. The still image of the pipe rested in the background of his mind. This didn't sound right. How could he replicate something if all he did was find out what it was made of? He wouldn't be able to capture Avalon's beauty if he just filled a mould with whatever he believed it was made of. He had to go back further. He had to figure out precisely what its make-up was, find every conceivable flaw and see it from the creator's point of view. If he could do that, why couldn't he also try to replicate an object's experience to match the age and weathering?

Wiping the design from his mind, he began anew. He would need to add lines to his aria and he might have to reword what he already had. Examining made it sound as if he really understood the makeup material when in reality, he was just guessing. Speaking in that manner, the design was completed and nothing could be done to increase its quality.

Closing his eyes and concentrating again, Shirou took deep breaths. "Determining the concept of creation." Without warning, green sparks exploded from the pipe as if it were a downed power line. Dropping the pipe with a loud clatter, Shirou looked between the item and his smoking hand.

"Guess this is why Rin is so mad whenever Illya casts her spells so easily," he mumbled, complaining to himself in the dark space. This was going to be a great big game of trial and error to see which words would grant the desired effect. Maybe determining was too absolute. Maybe he had to work in hypotheticals…

That was it!

Shirou gripped the pipe tightly with renewed vigour. "Hypothesizing the concept of creation."

… … …

… … …

The sound of a door sliding closed was followed by a girl calling out to the house. Rin had come by after school again for dinner and training. Mostly dinner.

Moving into the kitchen where she imagined everyone would be, the girl pulled out an old-looking book. "I found something in my father's library. It's an old book from the Clock Tower about magic training I've never read yet." Illya and Kiritsugu were playing a card game that included a wooden board and pegs while Shirou was in his usual spot: the kitchen.

"You haven't read all your father's books yet?" Kiritsugu asked casually, playing a five of spades before moving a coloured peg two spaces in the board.

Rin huffed, opening the book and skimming through the first few pages. "Of course not. He had thousands of books and I've been busy with school, training and teaching." She turned a couple more pages, skipping the unnecessary introduction stuff. "Besides, I've been experimenting with some of the spells I've read and gotten some neat results." Looking up, she watched both Illya and Shirou shudder.

"Don't remind me," they said in unison, getting a laugh from their father.

"Anyway, this book was on teaching magecraft to others so I left it on the backburner for a while." The girl shrugged, finding something interesting.

"You figured training two novice mages by yourself without any sort of guidance was the best decision," Kiritsugu laid out blandly, exposing how flawed that idea was.

Rin's eye twitched. "I think I've done a good job so far. I don't think anyone has any complaints," the girl toted confidently.

Shirou made a noise and raised one hand but after catching the glare Rin gave him he quickly shut his mouth.

"That's what I thought." She nodded to herself, humble as ever. "Anyway, it says here the first step in training mages should be to evaluate their origin and element. That way you can discern what field of magecraft they would best be suited for."

Rin hadn't done that, in fact, she had completely forgotten. Come to think of it, she didn't even know her own origin and element. That was probably because she had neglected this book and never learned the spell. That and her father had been so busy with the War that he hasn't even begun to train her before his death. He had helped her out when she got stuck but he never sat down and taught her directly like she had done with Shirou and Illya. In that sense they were lucky.

Illya and Shirou were looking at her with accusing eyes. "Hey!" she shouted suddenly. "I was busy, it's not my fault." With a huff, the Tohsaka crossed both arms over her chest and looked in another direction.

"Well, nothing we can do about it now. Can you see what all our elements and origins are?" Shirou asked, wiping his hands on a towel as he looked up from his place in the kitchen.

Rin looked sheepish. "Well… no," she admitted while a few strange glances were cast her way. What was the point of revealing a missed step if she had no way of correcting it? At least she had an excuse. "I can figure out elements pretty easy but the book never spoke of a process to figure out origins. From what I read, it's a rather complex process too." The older man snorted before playing the last card in his hand, an ace of hearts, and moving his coloured peg two spaces forward.

Rin eyed him suspiciously. "What's so funny?" she asked, leaning forward onto the table. Kiritsugu had been hiding things from her ever since that first day he came to see her. She really should have asked more questions when he was being fully honest with her.

He hummed questioningly, spreading the four cards he played out so he could count his points for the hand. "I just found it amusing that the book claimed origin deciphering to be difficult."

Rin narrowed her eyes. "You know the incantation, don't you?" While he moved to move his peg nine spaces forward, Rin did her best to try analyzing his face and body. She couldn't get a single signal from him.

"Yes he does, he's trying not to say anything so I can't catch him lying," Illya called him out, moving her peg twelve spaces. She smiled wide as her father gave her a scowl.

The old magus sighed and shook his head lightly. "No, not exactly." He paused as his hands idly swept up the cards on the table. He looked over his shoulders as if there was someone watching him from behind. "Rin, you know of my father, correct?" She blanched. Norikata Emiya, the sealing designate who single-handedly converted an entire island into flesh-hungry ghouls.

Rin had done her own research long ago in an attempt at learning more about the Magus Killer. She hadn't found much concrete evidence, but her family name allowed access into records of some of the unimportant sealing designates. Everything beyond who Norikata Emiya was was expunged and classified, but the location of his discovery lead Rin to investigate the area and its rumours. Supposedly Alimango Island was cursed. Years back, the priest disrupted the spirits of the area and all of the inhabitants became crazed cannibals. It was why the entire area was avoided by everyone as the curse still condemns the island to this day. It didn't take a genius to guess that these cannibals were vampiric ghouls.

"He was a very wise man. Foolish, but wise," Kiritsugu shuffled the compiled deck of cards and set them down in the center of the table. "In order to conduct his experiments, the knowledge of a subject's origin was required to ensure they were compatible. I was his first test subject, an experiment to see if his design had worked." He leaned back on his legs and gently placed his hands on the table. "Following certain events, I had to leave my home without my father. Deciding to take something with me as a childish memento, I took the device on my way out and haven't looked back since." He leaned forward again, picking up the cards and dealing six to himself and his daughter.

"Do you still have the device?" Rin asked, interest piqued.

He nodded slowly. "It's been with me ever since. It's in one of the hidden pockets of my coat. Unfortunately, the old man could never perfect it. It has conditions which need to be met, two to be specific." Casually, the Magus Killer picked up his hand and looked at the cards, shuffling them around between his fingers with a squint. "The first is that both the caster and the subject must be willing to reveal themselves to the other, it has to be spoken as a verbal contract. The second is that both involved must activate their circuits so the soul and body can communicate." The man placed two face-down cards in front of him and Illya reached to place two of her own on the pile.

"Is it dangerous? Have you ever used it before?" Rin asked, leaning so far forward that she was on her knees.

"I've used it, yes. Although I can't really say if it's dangerous or not. Sealing designates aren't really concerned with safety when it comes to their experiments as you might know. The times I've used it have gone well but there's no telling if it's entirely safe." Illya continued leaning over the table to cut the deck about halfway. Kiritsugu flipped the top card of the lower portion to reveal a three of clubs. "Potential side effects or dangerous might occur with each use, or it may only affect users outside the Emiya bloodline."

"Then you can use it to see our origins. Since you're most compatible with your father, you're the least likely to experience something adverse." Rin commented, leaning back in her seat.

Kiritsugu shook his head. "I refuse. Although unlikely, it's possible for the one being examined to see the memories of the one using the device. I'd like to avoid risking something like that as much as possible." His voice was a tad colder than it had been. Before, he had just been explaining something as he played a game, but this comment was focused.

Rin pouted. "Then I guess I have no choice but to use it myself, I assume you plan on letting me use this device?"

He nodded, watching his daughter play an eight of diamonds. Without skipping a beat, he laid down a seven of clubs and moved his peg two spaces. Just as quickly, the albino played a six of spades and moved her own peg three spaces, sticking out her tongue teasingly. Rin didn't know how to play the game, but she was under the assumption Illya was winning by her actions alone. Kiritsugu hardly seemed to mind, turning his head towards the kitchen to call out. "Shirou, if you wouldn't mind could you please get my coat from my room?"

A short noise revealed his son's acknowledgement. Within a few seconds, the boy jogged from the kitchen out the dining room door. "I can't tell you what to expect, everyone experiences things differently and each viewing produces different results."

"So someone else has used this thing before?" Rin took away from his words. Kiritsugu played a five and smiled as his daughter looked at him in shock. He moved his peg four spaces and chuckled as Illya placed her head sadly on the table.

"One person, yes. It was mostly to verify what my father had seen." As Kiritsugu finished speaking, his son returned with a thick black coat in his hand. Carefully, Shirou settled it beside his father before returning to the kitchen. The older man reached into a pocket to withdraw an old, crusty looking glove. It was in all shades from light tan to black. Crafted from mismatched patches of leather poorly sewn together several times over. Holes were cut out on the pads of each finger, edges wrapped with a thinner material that was also crudely sewn onto the leather. It looked as if it was a few minutes away from crumbling into dust.

"That's the almighty device?" Rin laughed shortly, getting a sideways glance from the older man.

"If the Clock Tower knew this existed, we wouldn't be having this conversation. With how difficult it is to discover someone's origin, they'd hunt me down endlessly to try and recover this alone. I'd be a sealing designate just like my father." Kiritsugu pointed out, stretching to gently place the old glove on the table in front of Rin.

The Tohsaka magus picked it up and looked it over carefully. It seemed like any other glove she had seen in her life, although much older and in a greater state of distress.

"Can we see Daddy's origin and element?" Illya asked, raising her head finally to look up to her father. Kiritsugu had put down his cards and seemed… nervous. As if he was uncomfortable with the prospect.

"I'll have to pass. I already know my origin and element and we wouldn't want to risk hurting Tohsaka." The man looked at the young magus with a strange gaze that told her his flimsy excuse was best left untouched. It seemed everyone else in the room noticed this as well since nobody brought it up any further.

"Well, I guess I'll start with myself." Rin turned the glove over, verifying that it was for the right hand.

"Hey, Rin." Illya suddenly distracted her just as she was about to slip the glove on. "You use German for a lot of your spells, right?" Rin nodded, a lot of her spells did use German in one way or another. Whether it was broken and nonsensical was a different matter altogether. "If magecraft is in German or Latin, how come when I speak German I don't cast fireballs?"

Rin blinked slowly a few times, looking into innocent, naive crimson eyes. Kiritsugu snorted before laughing and Shirou quickly followed. Illya looked between them in confusion. "What's so funny?" she asked, pouting as she felt like the butt of a joke.

Rin didn't laugh at all, but an involuntary smile did come across her face. She held her composure pretty well until she imagined all of Germany flinging balls of fire around like a bad fantasy movie.

Once everyone had calmed down some, Rin actually answered the question. "Magecraft could be cast in any language, but that's not up to the decision of the master. I taught you that magecraft is all about visualization and actualization. What that means is, you have to visualize the spell in your mind and actualize it with your magic circuits. The words magi use vary with each person. Illya, you're a special case in that you can copy a magus' spell exactly using the same process and words. Other magi have to find their own way of speaking and casting to actualize the spell. Take Shirou for example, he needs to speak an aria before he can begin reinforcement while Kiritsugu and I can do it without speaking a word."

"Dinner's ready!" Shirou called, bringing out the first few plates of steaming food.

… … …

Thankfully, Taiga didn't show up for dinner so they didn't have to wait for her to leave to begin casting magecraft. Following some of the guidelines in her book, Rin lit magically-infused candles she had brought along for the element-deciphering portion of things. She also slipped the glove onto her right hand, careful not to bend her fingers too much in the off chance that she blew out the stitching.

"So I can make sure I got it right, I'll examine myself first," Rin explained, holding one hand, the ungloved left, to the center of her chest. The young magus closed her eyes and recited a three-count aria she had remembered from the book used to discern elements. As she finished speaking, her eyes opened and began flickering around as if she were reading pages from an invisible book. It took a few moments but eventually, she spoke with minor exertion. "My elements are…fire, earth, water, wind and ether."

The two children didn't seem phased but Kiritsugu's eyes opened rather wide. "You're an Average One, skilled in all elements of magecraft. It's a very rare trait highly sought by the Mage's Association." Kiritsugu explained the rarity to his children who quickly changed from confused to awed.

Changing hands from the left to the right, she placed her fingertips against her chest and suddenly… nothing happened. Scrunching her face in confusion, she looked to Kiritsugu for help. "I've never tried it on myself. As odd as it sounds, try speaking a verbal contract with yourself. Use your name and state your plans, then respond to it."

Rin looked down at herself, feeling silly already. "I, Rin Tohsaka, request permission to view the origin of you, Rin Tohsaka." She frowned, feeling ridiculous. Suddenly, the glove began to glow a sickly blue. Confidence returning, Rin spoke the response to herself. "I, Rin Tohsaka, permit Rin Tohsaka to view my origin." All that confidence left her body after speaking that absolute butchery of wordplay aloud.

"Now activate your magic circuits and send mana into the glove." Kiritsugu guided, watching with some interest. Doing as ordered, Rin twitched like she had just been jolted by electricity. A short stabbing pain shot into her core but that seemed to connect herself to… well, herself. Although this was deeper than the inside of her own mind for certain. Her eyes began flickering once again, sifting through information and trying to discern what she was looking for. Suddenly, her eyes locked in place.

"My origin is…" she squinted as if trying to see something blurred in the distance. Her eyes were clouded and seemed to look through the wall ahead almost as if she were trying to focus on something which wasn't really there. "Balance?" she asked herself. "An imaginary element, huh."

Giving her head a shake, she lifted the gloved hand from her chest and motioned for one of the two other children to come closer. Illya moved faster than Shirou, kneeling in front of Rin with a bright smile. The process repeated in much the same way. A simple left-hand element divination before the two spoke their verbal contract to begin the process of finding her origin. The contract was identical to the one Rin had spoken, only with the names changed where they ought to be. When they were finished constructing their contracts and activated their circuits, Rin placed her hand on the albino's chest. She winced and made a slight noise of pain but seemed to relax shortly after.

Rin took considerably longer to find whatever she was looking for. Two entire minutes passed as the Tohsaka seemed to sift through whatever it was she was being given. Throughout her time looking, the Tohsaka gave small shakes of her head and hums of frustration. At the end, she gave a short nod and a noise of triumph. She had found what she had been searching for.

"Your element is ether and your origin is 'wish'," Rin declared confidently, removing her hand to point at Shirou. Illya skittled away to her original position before looking at her hands. She seemed unsure of what to do with this information.

Shirou settled in front of Rin and shuffled nervously. This was way too personal for his liking and he couldn't stop his cheeks from turning pink. "I think I can find your element using the glove alone. When I looked within myself, it was like I was trying to find my way through a dark maze. Illya had been a cold, dense fog that seemed to go on forever. Along the way, signals and hints seemed to clue me into the elements." She paused, looking at the glove. "It would be a good test to see how much this glove can really tell about someone. We'll check with this and I'll try to guess your element before I figure it out for real with the spell, alright?"

Shirou nodded complacently, likely not understanding a single word she had just said. Just like the last two times, the contract was made without issue. With the glove glowing that strange blue shade, Rin and Shirou activated their circuits and the Tohsaka touched the glove to his chest. As soon as she did, the girl flinched greatly before recoiling her hand as if she had been bitten or struck. The force of her involuntary motion actually sent her off balance and she landed flat on her back. All eyes landed on Shirou in a mix of confusion and surprise. Rin stared at him in bewilderment as if he had just punched her in the face for no reason. She seemed scared, mortified even.

Rin slowly looked at her hand, trying to see if she was hurt in any way. With her mouth agape, she turned the appendage over three times, almost unbelieving that she hadn't been hurt. Unable to see blood, she eventually decided she was alright. "Your element and origin are the same. They're both sword."

… … …

… … …

… … ...

Rin lifted both arms in a cross above her head, gritting her teeth in preparation for the incoming blow. There was a loud boom as the shockwave from the impact blasted through the area. Her right leg wobbled but through sheer stubborn will, she forced the limb to hold firm.

Every day he seemed to be growing stronger and if he kept this up, she would be unable to block even a single one of his attacks. Over the last year, she'd actually had to focus on dodging his strikes rather than taking them head on like she was used to. Rin had made that mistake once and received a nasty bruise that spread across her entire torso.

The pressure eased off her arms and reflexively, Rin lowered and repositioned her forearms to make a wall covering her face and front. Just as expected, another powerful blow impacted her front and sent her slid back through the grass. With practiced ease, Rin spaced her legs to keep herself from falling over backwards when her heels eventually dug in to stop her abruptly. She let out a controlled, albeit shaky, breath.

Peeking from behind her arms she saw bright orange hair and burning eyes. Smoke actually wisped off the shinai in his hands. When did she start dropping off in these spars? When had Shirou gotten so ruthless?

Maybe she shouldn't have made him fight wolves when they were younger.

Gritting her teeth, Rin reached into her coat pocket to withdraw two sapphire gemstones. The jewels themselves were shaped to look like miniature blades. The angles cut into the gem dispersed the sunlight into a beautiful rainbow array.

There was no time to use the power stored in these gems in a spell, Shirou would re-engage in a moment. She would have to settle for an uncontrolled release of mana. Such a technique was powerful but undirected. Due to its unpredictability, Rin couldn't be sure whether or not the attack would kill him or just stun him.

Either way, it would give her time to prepare an actual spell, if he could even attack after that. Flinging the two miniature blades forward, Rin sent an activating burst of mana into each. Shirou had already been moving forward and her planned trajectory landed the gems right at his feet.

There was a bright flash then a colossal explosion which tore up the ground and sent chunks of dirt and grass in every direction. A piece of turf actually struck her in the face.

Shirou was getting better at projecting gems for her, his last batch hadn't been anywhere near this powerful. A couple years back she had wondered if the boy could project anything if it were technically a weapon. It took an incredible amount of money from her estate, but she managed to get a gem fashioned in the shape of a sword so Shirou could have a good base for projections. He could have altered a normal gemstone but that would both decrease its longevity in the world as well as its overall quality. The fake jewels were decent enough but they were nowhere near the level of the originals. Their capacity was decreased and the spells they released were a little more than a full letter grade worse.

The explosive release of energy boiled the very air and made a large smoky steam cloud that concealed the area around her opponent. Nothing was stirring inside, he must at least be wounded from an attack like that.

"Hmph. If you couldn't survive such an attack then you shouldn't have tried to…fight?" Rin trailed off, all coherent thought sending itself out the hypothetical window. Shirou was completely fine. Smoke and steam were rolling off his shoulders and his face had a touch of soot but he was in pristine condition otherwise.

The orange haired boy wiped his cheek before straightening and rolling one shoulder. There was a strange coat on his shoulders that was heavily burnt and gouged. Just as soon as she had seen it, the coat vanished in an array of golden sparks. He had projected Kiritsugu's coat so quickly? Rin hadn't even seen him speak his aria, he couldn't have grown that proficient with projection.

"You ruined my oven, Tohsaka." Rin winced. When Shirou used her last name like that, she knew she was in trouble. "You're supposed to put the pizza straight the rack, not the pizza and a plastic cutting board!" he shouted, snapping into a stance with his demolished shinai. While he had survived the blast, his weapon certainly hadn't. Cinders smouldered on the end that had blown off, producing swirling smoke. Carelessly, he cast the leftover hilt to the ground before repositioning his hands back in front as if he had never dropped the weapon in the first place. Before Rin's very eyes, an actual sword formed within his hands.

Not a blunt stick designed for friendly duels but an actual sharp, gleaming blade. "You don't plan on hitting me with that, do you?" Rin asked, paling two shades as she considered what might happen if he did.

Shirou nodded ominously. "You disgraced my kitchen, now you must pay."

Rin really would have paid the price too if it hadn't been for something large, fast and blue flying out of nowhere to knock the weapon out of Shirou's hands. Just as fast as it had been removed, Shirou summoned another.

But then that weapon was also blasted away. Expecting this one, Rin traced the projectile back to her saviour. Blue wires in the vague shape of a gun pointed at the deranged boy. Further, in the distance, a girl in pink sprinted towards them.

"Are you two stupid or what?" she shouted, reaching up to pluck hairs from her head. "I'm pretty sure everyone from school heard you two fighting!"

Throwing her hand forward, the two hairs she plucked turned a bright blue. They weaved through the air and wrapped around Shirou's limbs before tightening together and holding him in place.

While he struggled, Illya got closer before trying to speak. "Shirou, calm down. So what if Rin ruined your oven because she was impatient and stupid."

Rin nodded. "Yeah wh- Hey!" Realizing what had just been said, Rin stamped her foot. Just whose side was she on here?

"It doesn't mean you should kill her, doesn't that go against your stupid code or whatever?" she asked, plodding over in front of him. With a hop, she flicked his forehead and glowered up at him while he flexed and struggled against his bindings. Since the base material for Illya's magecraft was just her hair, its overall durability was actually quite low. It would have been much stronger if the medium were steel cabling. Rin had experimented with the girl and found that Engel Note could use any diameter of cable, it just required more mana and had higher upkeep.

Shirou closed his eyes and took a slow deep breath. He pulled his body in tight and the wires around him responded accordingly. As he reached the apex of his breath he flexed outward and shattered the strings binding him.

"Shirou!" Illya shouted with frustration spread across her features. "She's going to buy you a new oven!"

Shirou's entire demeanour changed like a light switch. He stood naturally, face split into a bubbling smile with his eyes closed warmly. "In that case, she can live. Knowing Rin, the oven she'll get to replace the broken one will be the best on the market." Without another word, he turned and walked towards his house.

Rin paled, absolutely speechless as she watched the boy stride off carelessly. That was all it took to calm him down? Wait a minute, she was expected to replace that old thing? With something that was the best on the market? Rin's fiery gaze landed on the back of Illya's head. Right now the albino was trying to look as small as possible.

"Where am I supposed to get the money to buy a top of the line oven?" Rin shouted hysterically. Shirou would be expecting a multi-thousand-dollar appliance now, all thanks to his sister. Her estate was drained after funding Shirou's jewel project. Since she didn't work, that low amount wasn't moving either. Rin had always wondered if Illya's red eyes were an indication of a demonic background.

Storming up, the Tohsaka grabbed the little devil around the shoulders and lifted her off the ground. "Why would you tell him that? You've only made it worse!" she shouted, shaking the albino back and forth violently.

"It was the only way to calm him down! Besides, if you get him something nice he'll like you more!" Illya tried to bargain. She didn't understand what the Tohsaka had said next, but Rin definitely shouted it loud enough to cause permanent hearing damage.

… … …

… … …

"I'm home!" Shirou shouted into the house. Kiritsugu's voice greeted him from within, likely the dining room. Taiga's voice followed, as did the background noise of the television. Shirou slipped out of his shoes and dropped his schoolbag off as well.

Like Rin, he had finished the homework for the next few weeks in advance. Unless Fuji-nee piled more on top of the already hefty pile, he wouldn't have to worry. School had never been too difficult for him, especially after having to learn such advanced concepts like magecraft so early in his life. He was doing math in his personal magecraft studies that were more complex and convoluted than anything high school could offer. Since Illya never had to study the fundamentals of magecraft, she hadn't learned anything that technical. Kiritsugu had homeschooled her when she was younger but even the old man's education could only go so far.

She was still a bright girl so it didn't take her too long to understand the material. Illya's only fault was in her incredible laziness. She frequently put off doing homework then scrambled to complete it the day before it was due, asking Shirou and Rin for help or to copy their answers. The latter never usually worked considering she was ahead of them in the next year.

Thinking about school, he remembered the book Rin had given him a year ago. He actually forgot to read it with everything going on. In their first year of high school, the two magi had a competition with a friendly wager. Whoever finished the year with higher marks could choose to have something given to them by the loser.

While they were setting up the bet, Rin had stood uncomfortably close to him, staring up with stars in her eyes the entire time. Shirou had no idea what her plan was, but he decided to go along with it if it would make her happy.

At the end of their first year, Rin passed with perfect grades, a solid one-hundred percent across the board. She had shoved the paper in his face while looking so pleased with herself.

Shirou almost regretted showing her his own report card. Like her, he had perfect scores across the board, only one subject differed. The one hundred and one percent in English meant he had beaten her by one entire percent. Since they were in separate class groups, they had different teachers for different courses. Shirou had Fuji-nee for English and she had given him a bonus mark for an especially well-written paper.

Rin had deflated like a balloon. It was like a year-long plan had been destroyed in front of her very eyes. Well, it had. She wouldn't be able to get whatever she had wanted from him, so Shirou could see why she would be upset.

Shirou had never really wanted anything from Rin so in the end, he decided on taking a book he frequently borrowed from her on projection magic. After handing her loss over, they made a similar bet for the current year. Shirou had the feeling Rin was already winning. If he were honest, he was scared of what she was going to ask for.

Thinking about their wager brought a little smile to his face until he remembered the current state of affairs. She had ruined his oven because she couldn't wait for him to get home from his part-time job. Not only had she invaded his kitchen, but she had also ruined one of the most important appliances in one move. He had really wanted to hurt her when he found out.

Illya's words suddenly hit him like a brick. "...doesn't that go against your stupid code or whatever?"

A frown spread across his face. He didn't know of any code he abided by. He just did what he felt was right. If he felt that punishing Tohsaka was right or if he felt that throwing himself in harm's way for one reason or another was the right decision, he would do it. Kiritsugu's training would cross his mind as he did, but that wouldn't be enough to stop him. The old man had taught him that sacrifices were sometimes required to get the best outcome but Shirou secretly refused to believe it. There was always a way to save someone. Failure only meant that he hadn't tried hard enough.

Avalon suddenly brightened within his mind as if it were responding to his thoughts. Sometimes Shirou wondered if the scabbard was actually alive. Whenever he thought of heroes, regret or failure, it seemed to trigger something that made the relic respond.

Shirou slid the door to the dining room open, being greeted by the sight of Kiritsugu trying to watch TV while Fuji-nee watched over his shoulder. He didn't have a measuring tape on hand but there was likely only two inches separating the two.

Raising his eyebrows, the boy looked between the two. "You're here early, Fuji-nee." He was actually about to ask how she had gotten there so quickly but he remembered his little battle with Rin. Those ten extra minutes would have been enough for his teacher to speed home.

"Kiritsugu asked me to come by," she mumbled autonomously, eyes flickering between the man himself and the show playing on TV.

To say it was uncomfortable when Fuji-nee got like this was an understatement. During New Years last year, she had consumed an extraordinary amount of alcohol and tried to kiss the old man at the end of the countdown. She hadn't remembered doing it, but everyone else certainly had.

Shirou wanted to say something to her about the situation but why should he try to control the wishes of others? "What's the occasion?" he decided on asking instead. Shirou settled into his familiar position at the front right side of the table. Kiritsugu and Shirou had both govern up their positions at the head of the table to Illya, who switched around between either side.

Kiritsugu turned from the TV then. "I thought it would be nice to have everyone over again. I've invited the Rin, her mother, Sakura and that new friend of yours, Shinji."

Shirou blank-faced the old man. Why would he invite Shinji? Shirou had been friends with the boy for a good year but even as a friend Shirou could see that the Matou didn't play well with others. "You just wanted to have another big meal."

He laughed suddenly. "Guess I'm easy to read. I've taken the liberty to gather what you'll need." He motioned with his head towards the kitchen.

Something clicked in Shirou's mind. "But Rin ruined the oven on Monday, I won't be able to cook anyth-"

Kiritsugu raised one hand and his son fell silent. "Arrangements have already been made. I've contacted a store in the Shinto area and ordered what they claim to be the best oven money can buy."

Shirou had often wondered where all the money Kiritsugu had come from. But with his history, did he really want to? A month back the old man had brought him to a hidden armoury. A secret place underneath a seemingly normal house in the Shinto area. Weaponry Shirou had never even knew existed lined the walls. Rather than notice all that was there, he had noticed two things that weren't. Two spots in the wall were empty and several cases labelled as high explosives were in a similar state. Shirou had traced a handful of the weapons. With all the components that made up firearms, it was rather taxing. Some of the weapons were conceptual weapons. As in, weapons specially imbued with magic so that they could actualize a concept. An example was a crossbow which fired arrows that could destroy weaker magic.

Even with all the information learned from his father's journal, Shirou had no idea what sort of tactics the old man used against other magi. Kiritsugu was inept in magecraft beyond runes but he had easily taken out the majority of competitors in the War. He must have had some tricks up his sleeve.

The father and son exchanged glances. The older of the two offered a wink. There was something else of importance taking place today. Unfortunately, the boy had no idea what it might be. "Then i suppose I'll get cooking in a little bit," Shirou decided, rising off his knees. "I'm going to get washed up and change out of my uniform."

"Hey, Shirou!" Taiga called as he turned to leave. When Shirou faced the older woman, she smiled. "How is Neko holding up?" Neko, also known as Otoko Hotaruzuka, was a high school friend of Taiga's. The two had been inseparable before, during and after graduating. After school, Taiga had moved on in search of a teaching career while Neko had decided to take over the bar her father had started just south of Shirou's house. The Copenhagen wasn't a very popular place but it had its regular customers. Shirou had started working a part-time job there halfway through last year after Taiga recommended it. Kiritsugu had pointed out that they didn't need the money, but Shirou had made a rebuttal. The job would give him a schedule to follow which meant additional discipline and structure. Kiritsugu hadn't argued much after that, deciding his son knew what he was getting into.

"Neko is doing well, she told me to tell you to stop by for a visit once in a while." Shirou nodded, scratching the back of his neck. Neko had told him to do that four days ago - he had just forgotten about it until Taiga reminded him.

"That's good, did Illya stay for running club today?" Slowly, Taiga placed both her hands on the table and looked up at the orange-haired boy with a warm smile.

Shirou shook his head. "No, she had made plans to go to Rin's house so she couldn't stay after school. If Rin's been invited for dinner I expect they'll show up around dark.

… … …

"Let's get down to business," Illya began, slamming her hands down on the Rin's bed to make a loud whump. "You and I both know Shirou." She pointed at Rin who held a look of determination. "We both know that he's about as quick as road tar in the middle of winter when it comes to anything about girls."

The Tohsaka nodded strongly, determination turning into an expression of aggravation. "He's absolutely clueless, a big stupid idiot."

"Mh-hm. You'd think with how sharp he is in school that he'd pick up a few signals from you." Illya nodded wisely, standing on the bed and placing one hand under her chin as if this was a topic of grave importance. "We need to figure out something that will get his attention and let him know you're serious."

Illya was trying very hard to keep herself from smiling. If her plan worked, tonight would be entertaining. Kiritsugu had been preparing this dinner two weeks ago and Illya had leapt at the opportunity as soon as she got word. Daddy was going to gather all Shirou's friends so he could make another fabulous meal. The first week, Illya had visited Sakura's house and told her almost the exact same thing she was telling Rin. With some less-than-subtle hinting, Illya suggested a makeover and entire personality shift. She had spent the entire evening trying to get Sakura to be more forward and direct and it had worked, albeit only slightly. The girl was very persistent on staying locked inside her shell.

Rin would be much easier to manipulate. She trusted Illya and was more suggestable. Due to their time training together, Illya had gotten close to Rin like a sister. They both enjoyed learning new magecraft and they both liked training alongside Shirou. Over time, Illya had watched Sakura and Rin, carefully concocting a plan that was years in the making. Rin and Sakura seemed to be willing to put aside their inhibitions when it came to Shirou. The two were chasing Shirou like dogs and cars. Illya had tested the two and determined that they were entirely willing to forgo decency if that was what it came down to. Illya gossiped with them individually and found the two were trying and failing to hide the fact they were head over heels.

Tonight her master plan would come together and Shirou would be put in his most embarrassing situation yet. She wouldn't be surprised if the girls tried to kill each other after discovering they were both looking for the same thing. Sakura could see Rin's attraction, but Rin was blind to Sakura just like Shirou himself.

"What if I just tell him in private?" Rin asked with a shrug. It was the most sensible option of course, but Illya wasn't looking for sensible. She was trying to make Rin do something outrageous, something funny.

Illya shook her head hysterically. Alabaster hair flung wildly in every direction, inadvertently hitting the other girl in the face. "No, no, no that won't work at all. Shirou is so thick he'd probably still be unclear."

Rin hummed, taking a downcast expression. "You're right, he's pretty slow. This all happened because he ruined my plans last year."

Illya shook her head again. "That wouldn't have worked either. If you had won and asked him for a kiss like you planned, he wouldn't have understood why. He would have thought you were crazy." Illya suddenly stood and moved off Rin's bed. She stepped over towards the wardrobe and threw open the doors casually to look within.

"You think?" Rin seemed unsure, this was perfect for Illya's plans.

"Absolutely. I think what you're going to need is a makeover. Shirou's only ever seen you with twintails, what if you just let your hair down naturally? I don't think I've ever seen you let it loose and neither has he." Illya pulled out pieces of clothing, looking them over before deciding whether they were good or not.

"What's wrong with my hair?" Rin asked, her defensive nature peeking through. One hand reached up to grab a fabric hair tie, feeling it out with her delicate fingers.

Illya snorted, keeping her back to the younger magus. "Well, you're not a little girl anymore. It's cute and easy, but sometimes changing things up is for the best." Illya had made a pile of clothes she liked and clothes that weren't going to cut it. Rin began to speak a syllable but Illya quickly interjected. "Have you forgotten the entire point is to surprise Shirou and make him fawn over you from the first glance?"

The reminder seemed to placate her for now. Illya stopped and blinked several times upon encountering a risque two-piece red bikini. "Do you own anything that isn't red? At least you're prepared for when you ask Shirou to go to the beach," Illya mumbled, tossing the article to the discard pile. There were only two more pieces left to go through.

"I like red," Rin stated with a hushed, embarrassed tone. "I don't judge you on all your pink outfits!" the magus suddenly snapped back. Illya took a second to look down at herself. From her wrists to her hips she was clad in a soft velour blouse. Flowing from the hips was a modest white skirt that went below the knees. To tie the outfit together she wore pink flats with cute white bows.

Whipping around with the ferocity of a wild animal, Illya pointed accusingly towards the younger magus. "There's nothing wrong with pink! I'll have you know Shirou likes the colour pink," the homunculus stated defiantly. The diminutive girl stood as tall as she could, lifting her chin and crossing her arms to achieve a pompous stance. "I've gotten several compliments about my choice in wardrobe. I haven't heard Shirou or any of the boys from your class call you cute before."

Rin's face changed to take on the appearance of a ripe tomato. "I-I don't want him to a-anyway," she stammered out, looking to the side to try concealing her face.

"Liar, liar, you're blushing just from thinking about it!" Illya giggled. She deepened her voice and tried to imitate her brother. "Oh Rin, I can't believe how beautiful you look tonight, you're the cutest girl I've ever seen!"

The younger magus tried to curl up into herself, hands clenching at her lap uncomfortably. The entire sight served only to make Illya laugh harder. "If you tell anyone I'll kill you," Rin managed to get out, obviously trying to make her mind leave her body.

"Even if you could, which you can't, I wouldn't tell anyone anyway." Illya's laughter settled down and she returned to sorting clothes. Now she was going through the pile of possible outfits a second time to weed out some of the lesser options.

There was a long period of silence as Illya sorted through the heap of clothes. The once large pile was now just a few outfits, one of which was her usual outfit of a long-sleeve red shirt and black skirt. It wasn't the most complex but it was certainly effective for attracting a man's gaze. One of the outfits really caught Illya's eyes.

The main material of the dress was satin. Black strips made up most of its creation, with stripes of red breaking up the monotony. A waterfall hem continued the striped design with slits cut into the material to give the outfit a water-like flow. Translucent silk made up the upper portion of the dress. This silk trailed from the bust to the neck and down to each fingertip. It was a one-piece dress and it looked expensive and difficult as sin to get into. To tie the outfit together, gleaming white pearls in a cross design sat just at the base of the neck.

"This," Illya gawked, eyes sparkling as she took the article in. "I can guarantee that if you wear this, Shirou won't be able to take his eyes off you. I know I won't," Illya mumbled the last part, skipping back to Rin and thrusting the dress onto her lap. "And wear your good black stockings with the garter. This dress is going to show a lot of leg which is good real-estate we can use!" Illya suggested, smiling like the fiend she was. Rin hadn't recovered fully from the last embarrassing moment and Illya's words didn't help any.

Illya began putting the clothes she had taken out back in the wardrobe, her smile continually growing along her face. Dinner was going to be very eventful. Even though Illya was doing all this solely for her amusement, she actually hoped that Shirou would make a decision about the two girls once and for all.

At the same time, she felt disappointed and slightly jealous. Illya loved Shirou as a brother, but could she love him more than that?

What was she thinking, she was his sister! Even if they weren't technically related, they couldn't have a relationship like that - could they? She had run into him walking out of the bathroom an unhealthy number of times recently, she would be lying to herself if she tried to pass those off as accidents.

Rin examined the dress Illya had picked out for her, face as bright as the devil child's eyes. The homunculus, with her back towards the Tohsaka, bit her lip in frustration. Illya couldn't be blamed, it wasn't her fault that the boys in her age range weren't as built or as toned as Shirou.

Oh no.

Illya froze like a statue, breath hanging in her throat. She had just admitted to herself that she had been looking at her brother in that sort of way. Groaning, Illya tried to purge the thoughts streaming around her mind.

… … …

… … …

The stove had arrived within the hour as Kiritsugu had predicted. While the old man settled up the replacement with the moving men, Shirou stopped by the bathroom to clean himself up. He peered into the mirror, prodding at his face and looking into his own features.

Since he had started projecting Avalon and other weapons years ago, minute changes had been spreading through his body. The most notable were alterations in his physique. Muscle was much easier to gain and definitely harder to lose. At first, he had assumed it to be all the training Kiritsugu was putting him through, but he was definitely older in appearance and more developed than any sixteen-year-old ought to be. A defined jawline and abdominal section with toned muscles that ran from wrist to ankle. His skin held a healthy light tan. In the last year, he had even grown taller than his father to a decent five foot ten and his body seemed far from stopping.

Shirou complained about his physique nearly every day, at least in his mind. Rin, Illya, Sakura, Mitsuzuri, Makidera, Himuro, Saegusa and so many of the other girls at school eyed him like a piece of meat. Unfortunately, he had nobody to blame but himself. He had made the unfortunate decision to take off his shirt to try cooling off while he was fixing a broken air ventilation unit at the school. After the first few girls made comments and whistles, the shirt replaced itself as quickly as it could be found and the ventilation system was repaired with just as much speed.

The very next day, girls from classes above and below him came by with things for him to fix. Watches, alarm clocks, hair dryers and even binder rings that wouldn't close flush against one another. He was being called all over the school for such arbitrary things that Issei Ryoudou, a recent friend like Shinji, had to step in and act as Shirou's screening system. He would handle repair requests and only allow legitimate claims through to Shirou in an attempt at reducing strain on the boy. The only person this screening didn't apply to was Rin. Issei didn't want to confront her and she seemed to only bring in genuine cases. She typically brought items her mother had damaged or broken like heaters, clocks and other electrical equipment that was too complex for the magus to handle herself.

This wasn't all Rin had done to interfere in his life. She frequently sought him out to have lunch on the roof, claiming to have important business to discuss. She always conned him out of a better lunch by offering to trade half of hers for half of his while quoting a passage from a Magical Fundamentals book.

"Equivalent exchange must be held in the highest regard. An eye for an eye, gold for gold, Od for magecraft." She always donned a wise expression and spoke with such regality as if it were gospel. Shirou just abided by her strange demands so she wouldn't get upset with him. Shirou wanted to point out that since his lunches were much better than hers, it wasn't really equal - but he didn't have the nerve to call out the fact.

The frequent visits and lunches had gotten the two sucked into an unfortunate pairing as the "Queen and Peasant" of Homurahara. It was embarrassing to say the least. When that name had first spread around the academy, Shirou had to face a fuming Sakura back home. Apparently, word travelled fast in Fuyuki. Under threat of being banned from his own kitchen for life, Shirou had to swear that he was just friends with Rin.

Shirou leaned into the mirror further, looking into his eyes before reaching up and pulling apart his hair to see the roots. Just as he thought, gray. This had been another change that happened after he began projection magecraft. It wasn't as noticeable as his physical changes but it was certainly concerning. Was he losing his hair or was it simply changing colour had been the almighty question. If it was the former, it might have just been natural. He had heard tales of young men losing all their hair in their early twenties.

If his hair was changing colour, he had to consider the possibility that his magecraft or something else he was doing was the source. Rin had been the first to notice his changing hair, but she hadn't noticed his eyes. They appeared their familiar golden brown but there were little scratches of gray that altered the pigment just a touch. Shirou had been able to see it only because he knew what to look for.

At least he felt good. So long as he was feeling alright he didn't care about any appearance changes. Peeking out the door of the bathroom, Shirou verified that his left and right were clear before moving into the hall. He paused to flip the sign hanging off the bathroom door to "open" and then retreated to his room.

Closing the door quietly behind him, he threw down the towel and pulled out fresh clothes to dress with. If everyone was coming for dinner it would be a show of good manners to dress himself up a tad. Rather than slipping on a basic pair of trousers and a two-tone shirt, Shirou reached in his clothes drawer to pull out a pair of neatly folded black pants, a white t-shirt and a green dress shirt. Slipping on fresh clothes, he fixed his collar through touch alone while he scanned his room briefly.

His eyes locked onto a familiar scabbard in the corner. Even tucked away and barely visible behind his wardrobe, the radiant sight of Avalon couldn't be mistaken. Shirou gently moved to and retrieved the artifact, flipping it over in his hands. He had been testing the longevity of his projections for some time now. After discovering the appropriate words for his tracing magecraft he had made colossal leaps in progress.

Avalon was an artifact of the Fae, meaning there was only - and would only - be one in existence. Because of this exclusivity, Gaia tore projections of it down with a vengeance. This copy had lasted three entire days and was just beginning to show signs of degradation. A noticeable chip had been taken off the top and it seemed duller than usual. With a sigh, Shirou dematerialized the scabbard and felt a load lift from his body. It took a surprising amount of mana to pay for the upkeep of the artifact. With each projection, the cost to preserve its state was decreased. He was nearing the point where maintaining the his natural mana regeneration was covering the upkeep cost of the scabbard.

Trailing onto his other experiments, Shirou lifted a copy of Taiga's old shinai. The entire surface of the weapon radiated a malice he had never seen before. It was almost ironic to see a weapon designed to never draw blood thirst for it. Once Shirou had perfected his method of tracing, Shirou began testing the limits of their duration. This had been his first experiment using a common item. Even four years later it showed no signs of degradation. It was indiscernible from the real shinai. Returning the weapon to its hidden place, Shirou checked the clock near his futon.

It was quarter-to-five which meant he had a little over an hour to prepare food for the guests. Cracking his knuckles and stretching, he decided to face the music.

… … …

Shirou had been in the middle of prep work for dinner when the doorbell first rang. Curious as to who it might be, but also aware of how busy he would be if interruptions continued, Shirou raced to the front door.

He stopped just short and casually slid it open. With closed eyes, he offered a large smile in greeting to whoe-

His body tensed and every muscle snapped alert as a body slammed into him at full force. Instinctively, one foot slid back to keep himself from falling over. There were arms wrapped around his neck and a head was buried in his shoulder.

Opening his eyes, violet hair took up the majority of his vision. "Sakura?" he asked, awkwardly lifting a hand to sit on the top of her head. Based off how warm his cheeks were, he probably looked like an embarrassment. "Did you trip again?"

The girl gently pulled herself away from him, staring deep into his eyes. The blush on her face coupled with the light shaking through her arms told Shirou she was practically forcing herself to do this. "I've missed you, Senpai."

Shirou couldn't speak. Who greeted someone like this? Was Sakura sick? Why did every woman in his life have to be some form of crazy? Not only had the girl decided to change up her greeting, she also changed her outfit. A white flowing sundress with a simple black belt cinched tight around her waist. It was simple but effective in the sense that it conveyed her innocence and purity. If only that were true, Shirou knew what she was going through back home.

Trying his best to smile and break the awkwardness, he gently took her arms and pulled them off his neck. "Well, I've certainly missed you." In an instant, the bright violet eyes of his younger friend seemed to explode. The shade on her face darkened, her body tightened and she looked as if she was about to jump straight through the roof. "... Because I've been in the kitchen since I got home. I could really use an extra pair of hands to get everything ready."

He offered a comforting smile while she deflated near-instantly. "Idiot-Senpai," she murmured under her breath.

… … …

With Sakura in the kitchen, things were much more manageable. Shirou usually made enough food for seven. In their rather small kitchen, that was full capacity. Nine could be done, but it would take some planning. While Sakura finished prepping, Shirou ran a culinary-triage on the foodstuff. He sorted items by what would need to be cooked, what wouldn't and then divided those groups between the two of them. Having a look at all the supplies, Kiritsugu had gone all out in both quality and quantity.

The new oven was the most beautiful thing Shirou had ever seen. It stood out from the dated, well-used appliances in the kitchen but that hardly mattered. Stainless steel and glass with an induction cooktop and two separated cooking compartments. He couldn't waste very much time testing every feature, but he was still excited to cook with his shiny new oven.

Even though the kitchen wasn't large, Sakura and Shirou had no problems moving around each other to get things done. They seemed to glide around the kitchen seamlessly without even communicating what it was they were doing. All of their accumulated experience in the kitchen together allowed such a feat.

Before Shirou even realized, five-thirty rolled around and guests began arriving. This time, Shirou really was too busy to answer the door so Taiga handled it all. Kiritsugu seemed thankful; for a while now, the girl had been leaning against him while they watched the news.

Both Shirou and Kiritsugu knew the young teacher had a crush on the old man. Kiritsugu had realized it when Taiga was much younger but Shirou had learned it from the old man's journal. His thoughts revealed that he was trying his best to avoid the matter entirely through ignorance. He didn't want to break her heart by turning her down but he didn't want to encourage her by responding either.

For a man who killed ruthlessly, he had a good heart.

Shirou lost his concentration, grazing along Sakura who made a noise as she prepared the rice cooker. "Sorry," he chuckled, returning to the task at hand.

… … …

"Whose idea was it to walk to your house in a paper-thin dress?" Rin clutched onto her arms, rubbing gently to try and generate some warmth. It was frigid tonight. Not only was it colder than usual, a wind had sprouted up out of nowhere to make it all that much worse.

"Neither of us can drive, it's a short walk, we wanted to arrive before your mother and walking is good for you," Illya shot back all at once, seemingly fine in the inhospitable climate. "It's not even cold, just deal with it."

"You're not wearing a paper thin dress with only four inches of skirting in the front!" Rin snapped back, finding warmth from the anger that stirred within.

"Temporary pain for permanent gain," Illya recited. Up ahead, Rin could see the stone walls surrounding the Emiya estate and a sudden spring of uneasiness stirred within her. Not knowing how Shirou would respond was affecting her more than she would care to admit. Sucking in a breath of icy air, Rin forced the uneasiness down and replaced it with artificial confidence.

"Sakura doesn't have a chance." The magus whispered to herself, smirking at the thought of beating her si- rival. Rin knew Shirou wasn't a very dominant man. If he was, he didn't show it at all. Sakura's submissive appeal would be lost on him - hopefully.

Shirou needed someone strong to guide him and Rin could be that someone. Without a guide, he'd get lost and probably do something stupid he would regret. Assuring victory in her own mind, Rin walked with a little more purpose.

The two girls eventually reached the front door of the house and Ilya let herself in. "We've arrived!" Illya announced, slipping out of both shoes in one fluid skipping motion. The albino seemed to forget about Rin as she strode confidently through the hall with a little sashay of the hips.

For whatever reason, she had decided to dress up alongside Rin. She argued that it would be improper to show up without dressing up just a tad. Illya had borrowed Rin's home phone and within an hour, a man in a professional looking suit delivered an outfit to the house. How Illya had connections to a tailor and how he could have outfits made to order within an hour had Rin puzzled.

The outfit Illya had was something ripped straight from a girly cartoon. The entire outfit actually hurt to look at on account of how bright it was. Starting from the top, two ivory feathers with pink tips adorned her hair. They were more accents than actual articles for styling. Around her neck was a fluffy white collar that accented her smooth, pale skin. From the base of the neck down was a one-piece vest-skirt. Lines running up and down where strips of material were sewn together actually broke the monotony of the piece and seemed to add to it. Her shoulders were bare, but she wore pink sleeves on each arm which lead just beyond her elbow before terminating in leaf-like points. Forearm length gloves slipped overtop although these were in white. From the back of each side of her hips were long draping sections, descending to about ankle level. No matter what, they always seemed to magically stay just inches off the ground. Two sections came towards the front as well but they were much shorter in length. It almost made her look like a blooming flower.

There were three layers to her skirting. The outermost was the one which held the extended pieces. Just beneath that was a flowing chiffon section of a lighter pink. The final bottom layer of her skirt was a dark red colour and was much stiffer as it refused to flow gracefully like the other two layers. The ends of this skirt were cut. Since the skirt ended just below her hips, it was likely done this way as a sort of modesty protection while simultaneously accenting the outfit. Rather than continue with the main theme of bright pink, she wore thigh-high boots in the same deep red as her skirt.

Rin had almost been jealous. She had bought her own dress after being conned into it by a saleswoman at the mall. She wasn't disappointed so far but it was nowhere near as cute as Illya's obviously custom-made ensemble.

There was light laughter from the dining room along with ambient kitchen noises. Clattering of cutlery and pots, utensils being set down and even the sizzle of a hot pan.

Halfway down the hall, Rin's nose was bombarded by a wave of scents that made her mouth water. Shirou had really gone out of his way this time. But how was he cooking without an oven?

Illya must have entered the dining room because a wave of gasps and voices suddenly came all at once. Rin bit the edge of her lip with a canine. She didn't need everyone to compliment her, she only needed one person to truly appreciate the effort she had taken. Turning the corner in the hall, Rin could see the open door to the dining room.

"Where did you find an outfit like that, sweetheart?" came the voice of Kiritsugu. He seemed happy in knowing that his daughter was enjoying herself.

"I've had it for a while but I've never had an event to wear it to." Rin could see Illya in mid-spin from this angle. After a full rotation, she stopped and made a clichéd pose with a peace sign on her forehead and one leg raised up to her thigh.

As Illya finished her performance, Rin stepped into the doorway and the room fell quiet. Rin made a quick count, surprised to only see two other people in the room beside Illya and herself. Kiritsugu and Taiga, the two others, seemed pleasantly surprised at least.

"Why did everyone go quiet, what happe-" came a voice from the right. Shirou had stepped into the dining area while wiping his hands with a towel. His eyes roamed over Rin and he had to do a double take to ensure what he had seen was reality. The towel in his hands slid out of his grip to hit the floor.

"Got him," came a victorious thought. Illya's plan had worked, Rin had shocked Shirou into falling for her. Now would be her chance to seal his destiny. All she had to do was wait for him to say something, then she could express how her dress had been planned specifically for him. It would guilt him into accepting whatever conditions she set after. What made this situation better was that Sakura was nowhere to be found, Rin was clean and clear!

"R-Rin?" he managed to stammer out. Impolitely, he gave her another look up and down before locking onto her eyes. His cheeks turned a bright red, likely the same shade staining her own face. "You look…" He couldn't find the words, he was smitten! Everything was going perfect.

Then Sakura stormed out of the kitchen.

… … …

Shirou legitimately couldn't pull his eyes from Rin. It was like someone had changed the channel and the only thing in his mind was static. Had she enchanted that dress in some way to cause this? Rin had always been a good-looking girl but wearing a dress like this could actually kill normal men. She was like another person entirely with her hair let down. He could honestly say that he preferred it this way. He had wanted to compliment her, but each time his brain tried to figure out what he needed to say, his mouth refused to co-operate and the static washed away the thought.

Then Sakura moved in front of him and rational thought returned. "Rin, Senpai needs to focus on preparing dinner, you can't distract him." The girl shook her head defiantly, acting as a barrier to shield Shirou's eyes.

This wouldn't end well. Looking to his side, Shirou tried to search for help. Taiga seemed worried, rightly so. Illya was watching the two girls with blatant amusement and Kiritsugu offered his son a warm smile that spoke volumes. His face expressed good luck while simultaneously saying: "You're screwed".

He couldn't see Rin, but he imagined she had assumed a position of defiance with her hands on her hips. "If Shirou can't keep his eyes off me it just means that he's interested." Kiritsugu snorted, taking a sip of his coffee. He turned and whispered something to Illya, who nodded enthusiastically. The old man had to cover his mouth to stop himself from laughing. Illya had planned all of this, hadn't she?

Sakura's body stiffened and her arms shot down at her sides. "Senpai can't help himself if distractions are forced into his face!"

"I only walked in, I'm not forcing him to do anything," Rin argued. She crossed her arms and lifted her chin to look down condescendingly at her rival. Shirou in the meanwhile slinked off silently back to the kitchen. At least they wouldn't be able to fight and blow up the house with Taiga here.

Shirou did his best to drown the two women out while he focused on picking up all the slack Sakura being away had made. There was definitely shouting and based off Illya's and Taiga's expressions, the two were starting to get physical. Shirou did his best to stay out of it. Obviously, his involvement caused more harm than good. Looking up for a brief moment, he saw Sakura and Rin pushing one another with their hands locked. Since Rin was stronger, she was easily holding the younger girl back. Just as Shirou was about to speak up, the doorbell rang and everyone paused.

"Saved by the bell," Kiritsugu commented dryly. "Sakura, if you wouldn't mind could you please go see who that is?" The man continued smiling warmly as he tried to hold back his laughter at the show. He briefly leaned over to Illya and whispered something. It must have been a joke because she burst out giggling.

Begrudgingly, Sakura released Rin and stormed past her into the hall. Without resistance, Rin sat down beside Shirou's usual spot. Illya quickly reached over the table and nudged Rin in the side. Believing that her brother wasn't watching, she motioned for Rin to move closer to Shirou's spot.

Shirou had always known Illya was a demon as soon as he'd seen those bright red eyes. She was going to be the death of him, and it would be due to two warring magi fighting over a spot as his girlfriend.

Sakura returned a few seconds later and her brother casually followed. He was wearing a black shirt covered by a white blazer with blue jeans. Scanning the room, he offered a casual wave to those present. He seemed to be handling Rin's appearance much better than Shirou, looking her over a few "Haven't seen you so dressed up, Tohsaka. It's a good look." A cocky smile was splayed across his face while he took a seat diagonally across from Rin, next to Taiga. Like a predator searching for prey, he panned the table slowly until he stopped at Illya. "I never knew your sister was some sort of a magical girl, Shirou." The blue-haired boy leaned back from the table, looking said girl over at least three times. "It's a shame she's not a little older."

Illya blinked, Kiritsugu scowled. Nobody had liked that comment. "I'm nineteen," Illya levelled, falling directly into Shinji's trap. Immediately, the Matou leaned forward into the table and offered a disgustingly hungry look.

"Really now? I haven't seen you at the Academy."

"That's because I'm two years higher than you and I've done my best to avoid you after hearing all sorts of rumours." Illya settled back in her seat, crossing her arms ominously as the air of royalty began to ooze from her entire being.

As far as Shirou knew, Illya had two antithetical personalities. One was her usual self: the optimistic, caring girl that idealized happiness to the extreme. The other was a true royal-blooded princess. Confident, condescending and cold above all else. She typically used the latter whenever she was dealt with people she didn't like, or when someone told her to be mature.

Quietly, Shirou continued listening to his guests while trying to finish up the last of his dishes. After this one, he could take a break while everything cooked.

"Rumours? Which ones? That I'm the good looking guy all the girls fall for?" He placed one hand on his chest, closing his eyes to smile confidently.

Illya smiled herself. Shirou felt a pit growing in his stomach. "The one that you're a giant pervert who peeks on girls changing and that you're an overly confident jerk who can't handle rejection." Rin snorted, covering her mouth to hide her amusement.

Shinji flinched like he had been stabbed. His face turned a daring shade of red and his smile twisted into a heartless scowl. "What did you say you litt-" He stopped abruptly as a hand swatted the side of his head. Shirou had practically teleported from the kitchen behind Shinji to stop him before he could say something he would regret.

Kiritsugu himself had actually made a move to stand. Father and son both looked ready to kill. "Shinji, even though you are a guest in my home you do not have the right to insult my sister. Continuing is going to get you more than just removed." Shirou's voice wasn't angry or full of emotion, it was colder than ice. It seemed to chill the temperature in the room a few degrees. Shirou and Kiritsugu shared a look before the latter settled back down in his seat.

With his eyes alone, the old man marvelled that such a boy could be Shirou's friend. "Didn't you hear what she said about me?" Shinji asked, rubbing the side of his head while he looked from his attacker around the room for sympathy. He wasn't getting any, likely because everyone present understood the rumours to be true - mostly. The blue-haired boy made a noise and grimaced. "I see how it is, I was invited just to be the butt of all your jokes."

He stood abruptly and turned to face Shirou while moving into the other boy's space in the same motion. With one finger, he prodded the taller man in the chest. "From here on out, consider us enemies, Emiya." The threat was rather empty. It was common knowledge that Shirou could wipe the floor with Shinji, literally.

The blue haired boy moved to the doorway, looking back to find Sakura. The girl in question had been in the corner looking at the ground, trying her best to remain unseen. "We're going home," he declared, waiting for her to follow him.

Sakura looked up at her brother, then glanced toward Illya who shook her head slightly. Sakura followed her lead. "I'm staying here with Senpai," she defied, holding her own hands at chest level.

Shinji narrowed his eyes and seemed to bore holes into the girl with the gaze alone. He opened his mouth to say something, then glanced back to Shirou who was still scowling with the glare of death. "Tsk, whatever."

There was a long period of silence until Taiga suddenly cleared her throat. "I don't think we should let Shinji's actions ruin the evening, let's just try to have a good time with each other." The teacher paused, then gave Rin a look. "Isn't your mother supposed to be coming?"

Rin nodded. "I guess she's running a bit late, she'll probably be here soon."

Shirou's rigid stance deflated into a more casual position. As the table slowly resumed conversing, he moved to stand in front of Sakura who seemed mentally absent. "Are you alright?" The girl nodded, but her eyes betrayed her true emotions. "Hey - don't worry about him. If he tries anything with you, give me a call and I'll be there, alright?" Shirou offered a comforting smile, taking the initiative to give her a short hug.

He felt the girl twitch at the contact, but she seemed to relax within a few seconds. As he broke the embrace, the familiar voice of his sister came from behind. "I think you're losing now, Rin."

What made Illya's teasing worse was that he couldn't even tease her back. The old man had told him to protect her and beyond that, he didn't want to hurt his sister. As he turned back to take up his rightful place in the kitchen, he shot Illya the same look he had given Shinji. She had been leaning over the table to speak with Rin but after seeing the look from her brother she instinctively snapped back to her own seat and tried to sit as properly as possible. "Big brother is scary when he wants to be." She pouted, setting her hands on her lap with tears in her eyes.

… … …

Aoi arrived a few minutes after that. From what Shirou could gather in the midst of his kitchen endeavours, she was a very solemn, softly-spoken woman with the aura fitting of a mother. When she had first arrived, she appeared disheartened upon seeing both Rin and Sakura. Even though she would have to come face to face with her displaced daughter, Shirou felt this would be good in the long run. If Sakura were to return to the Tohsaka family... Shirou stopped his thoughts for a moment. If Sakura ever returned? That wasn't right. When she rejoined the family. Shirou had every intention of helping his father slay that vile worm to free the girl from her bindings. Kiritsugu had to be working on a plan to kill the old Matou. If a way was possible, he would find it and together the two would play it out. Shirou had been meaning to ask the Magus Killer about the situation but he had just been too busy with everything. School, clubs, training, his job, cooking and dealing with two girls that were equal parts crazy and attractive.

Aoi had barely sat down before she joined in the conversation with wise, brief words. The older woman seemed to fit in quite well at the table and her expression turned to one of enjoyment rather quickly. She and Kiritsugu spoke independently and the two seemed to take an interest in one another. Perhaps it was because they were near the same age or that they were both single parents. Now that Shirou thought about it, he hadn't seen the old man enjoy himself this much in a long time. Taiga didn't like the situation one bit if the frustration plastered across her face was any indication. Since she had started speaking to Kiritsugu, the teacher had given the older woman a harsh glare. Either Aoi didn't notice or she chose to ignore it entirely.

Shirou and Sakura eventually started moving dishes out to the table. Even carrying as much as they could, they had to make multiple trips. It seemed like the flow of food would never stop. Once everything was laid out, the entire dining table was packed with items of every type. There was barely enough room for everyone's plates.

"I've never seen so much food in my life!" Taiga commented, first to begin filling her plate as usual.

"It's almost overwhelming," Rin added on, taking her own food with more civility.

"Senpai put in a lot of work," Sakura added, settling herself down in the spot Shinji had occupied earlier, across from Shirou.

"I don't quite know where to start," Aoi laughed, looking towards Kiritsugu for guidance.

"Somewhere and then you keep going!" Illya popped up behind the woman's shoulder, smiling brightly as she stretched to grab specific foods. She was the pickiest of all the eaters present. She preferred sweet food and avoided vegetables like the plague. Secretly, Shirou had been slipping minced vegetables into her sweets to try to balance out her diet.

Shirou settled into place beside Rin with a relaxed sigh. He could only smile as everyone complimented the food and filled their plates. He preferred being the last one, that way everyone else could get as much as they wanted. Shirou was content with picking up whatever was left. If he didn't like each dish he made, he wouldn't have cooked it in the first place.

Not a single person spoke throughout all of dinner. That sounded uncomfortable, but everyone was too focused on savouring the delicious flavours of the food. Usually, his dinner guests made brief comments or light conversation but none of that was happening tonight.

Shirou had to guess that it was the scale and quality of dinner. His meals were typically simple with hidden flavours and nuances that brought the taste buds to life. This extravagant spread used dishes which were already wonderful on their own, even prepared by a novice chef. Combining quality ingredients with a quality chef made each meal a spectacle.

Only when his guests were full and their plates empty did conversation resume. Unfortunately, it gravitated towards they dinner they just enjoyed which meant Shirou would find no end to the embarrassment tonight.

"I see why you want to stay over so often, Rin." Aoi giggled, covering her mouth as her daughter's face changed to match the shade of her dress.

"Once a week is not that often," Rin pouted. She hunched over on herself and crossed her arms to try and hide her embarrassment.

Her mother hummed questioningly. "You ask to stay over ever-" She was silenced as her daughter scrambled to cover her mouth. Aoi didn't move to avoid the act and her mouth was muffled before the full message could get out. Rin looked flustered in a way Shirou had never seen before. He actually began to understand why Illya liked embarrassing others so much.

Kiritsugu chuckled, lifting his coffee cup from its saucer. He glanced towards his own son with a glint in his eyes and Shirou could tell whatever was on his mind would be truly evil. "Shirou always looks forward to the days you girls can stay over." The old man set down his cup and a despicable smile spread across his face. "Unfortunately with my bad memory, I can't remember which girl he got excited over."

Illya chimed in as well and the pit that had begun in Shirou's stomach long ago rose to his throat. "I've heard him whisper one of your names in his sleep too but I couldn't really figure out which one either." Everyone here was working against him, was there a giant target painted on his back he wasn't aware of? Both of these statements were lies, but calling them out wouldn't work. Kiritsugu and Illya would act as the alibi for one another. If he tried to deny either statement, his guilt would be certified, or it would hurt their feelings somehow. Girls were weird like that.

Like a scene out of a movie, Rin and Sakura turned to look at each other with venomous glares before focusing on Shirou. Simultaneously, they asked which one of them he had been thinking of and Shirou could only try to make himself invisible while he finished the last few pieces on his plate.

Taiga placed her index finger against her chin and looked up wistfully. "I think I remember Shirou saying he fell for the girl who's been his close friend since he was young."

"That's me!" the two girls shouted simultaneously before sharing a glance. "You?" they spoke over one another again. This was going to be a long night.

… … …

… … …

Late in the evening, Aoi and Taiga departed after saying their goodbyes. Following the argument over who Shirou liked more, Rin and Sakura had both elected to sleep over. They had tried to watch his face after claiming they would stay the night to discern which of the two he reacted stronger to. Unfortunately for them, he had done his best to maintain a perfect poker face through it all.

Frustrated, the two constantly glanced at one another over the table as the witching hour drew near. They were locked in a war now and only one would come out victorious. Kiritsugu and Illya had beaming smiles on their face as they watched Shirou sink further and further into himself trying to avoid the entire conversation. He felt like a trophy, was that all he was? Something to claim victory over?

Picking Rin or Sakura was like choosing to lose an arm or a leg. He didn't want to admit to one because as a consequence he would lose the other. The best course of action was to just let them fight over one another, at least then he could keep ahold of them both as friends.

If he looked at things logistically, Sakura needed him more than Rin, although Rin was ultimately a better cho- What was he thinking? He wasn't doing this, he was just going to be their friend, nothing more. He wouldn't hurt either of them more than life already had.

… … …

The night was absolute hell for Shirou. Thankfully everyone turned in without having to be separated by force. Around midnight when Shirou stumbled into his room, he was prepared to pass out as soon as he hit the futon.

Shirou threw off his clothes and slipped on a pair of sweatpants. With an exhausted sigh, he settled his lower half under the quilt and stared at the ceiling. Slowly closing his eyes, he stretched out and rested his palms on the cool floor.

"Trace on."

As he spoke, a wireframe snapped into his mind. Just as quickly, the wireframe filled in with material to make a small scale copy of the real Emiya home. Using calculations of load, pressure differences and weight distribution, Shirou could see everyone's location in the house. Illya and Kiritsugu were just across the hall in bed, Rin was further down in her own room and Sakura was on the opposite side of the house for safety reasons and because the only other western-style room was on that side. The two girls were still moving around, likely plotting the demise of the other.

Shirou counted every piece of wood that formed the house again, verifying the number hadn't changed. At this point, the action was purely routine. His ability was so accurate he didn't need to test it in this manner. Practice made perfect as they say.

Shirou closed his eyes and tried to slip off into his familiar nightmare. At this point, he had grown so used to revisiting that hell, he hardly lost any sleep at all. It was the state between sleep and being awake that he was relaxed the most. Just as he was about to succumb to deep sleep, a presence near him sent every fibre of his body into red-alert.

Shirou didn't bother to ask how someone had gotten through Kiritsugu's barrier, why or how they managed to invade his room but none of that mattered. Snapping upright, he raised his fists to try and fight off the intruder.

He hadn't expected a high-pitched squeak followed by a thump against the ground. Tracking the source of the sound, Shirou spotted the fallen form of his demonic sister. Relaxing his body and letting out a breath, Shirou levelled a stern glare. "What are you doing in my room?" he asked, watching her stand and rub her behind. After all the trouble she had caused him tonight, she was lucky he hadn't picked her up and thrown her out.

"There were weird noises outside." Even in the darkness, Shirou could see her pout in an attempt at convincing him through cuteness. "I got scared and thought I could come sleep with you."

Shirou blinked wearily. "Why don't you go ask the old man if you're so scared?"

Illya shuffled awkwardly in place. She was only wearing a thin white nightgown that barely reached mid-thigh. If she wasn't older than him, this situation might have been misunderstood as a crime. "Daddy doesn't like when I ask to sleep in his bed." She kneeled beside his bed and inched closer. "I thought you were supposed to protect your little sister?"

Dammit, she was guilt tripping him into letting her have her way - and it was working! Grumbling as he tried to think of a decent response, Shirou reluctantly moved to one side of his futon so his sister could join him. "Only since you're related to me - and just for today."

With his first paycheck, he had bought himself a king-sized futon. Not only had it been on sale, but his old single-width had been in need of replacement. Illya offered a quiet thanks before shuffled underneath the large white quilt.

Turning so he faced away from her, Shirou got comfortable and closed his eyes to try sleeping again. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. "Hey, Illya," he began. "What kind of noises were outside?"

There was a shifting noise as she settled into a good spot before she spoke. "It sounded like breathing and footsteps. I heard them outside but then there was a creak in the house and I came here right after."

Shirou rolled to face Illya. He scrunched up his face in confusion. "Footsteps?"

Then a shout from the opposite room brought them both to sit upright. By sound alone, they could tell it was Kiritsugu from his room across the hall. The sound of shattering glass followed and cut through the house. Shirou snapped up to stand, already running to the door before Illya had even begun to move. Whoever had managed to get into Kiritsugu's room was a professional. They had managed to go right through his bounded field and sneak around the house without anybody besides Illya hearing.

A half-naked Shirou stormed through two doors while projecting a blade in his hands. As the boy was raising his weapon into a practiced stance, he was forced to block an incoming blow with the flat of his blade. The strike was so fast he almost hadn't caught it in time and the force was on an entirely different level. The glove-clad fist impacted and completely shattered the projected sword like it was a dandelion puff in a gale-force wind. Shirou's eyes widened in pure shock while the fist carried on into his chest. Feeling his entire chest collapse, he was flung backwards like a ragdoll.

Shirou landed on his back and slid along the ground uncomfortably. Since the doorway to his room was staggered a few feet from Kiritsugu's, he had blown through the wall and spewed splinters throughout his own room. Illya's surprised voice called out his name although it barely reached his ears as searing pain coursed through his entire body. Avalon had kept his lungs from totally collapsing but hadn't done much more than that. Shirou had neglected to reinforce his body and had almost paid the price for such a slight mistake.

This intruder was obviously a woman if her face was anything to go off of. She wore a neat, trimmed business suit in burgundy with a matching tie. Even her hair and eyes matched the shade of her suit. The only thing setting the outfit apart was the white dress shirt beneath the suit jacket and a pair of silver teardrop earrings.

She had sharp, angular features and was of obvious western descent. Thin lips and eyebrows set in concentration. It was the face of a professional contract killer. This woman was dangerous, she had dealt with Kiritsugu before he could even act and had almost killed Shirou in one punch. Blood gurgled into his throat and mouth as his lacerated lungs began bleeding profusely. It was like he was trying to breathe halfway underwater. Each breath agitated the liquid running through his respiratory system and made him want to cough violently.

A warming feeling suddenly spread through his body, starting at his core. Illya's hands were there, healing his pulverized ribcage. Breathing returned to him and grew easier with each passing second. "You idiot, you almost got yourself killed," she sniffled.

Looking at her face, Shirou could see a tear running down her cheek. Was that because of him? "Illya," he croaked, pain and pressure in his chest halting his voice momentarily. "Get out of here and go get Rin, I'll be fine," was what he said. He really just wanted her to leave. Rin was smart, she would decide the best action would be to flee and she'd force Illya to leave with her. Shirou would die trying to protect their retreat but that suited him just fine. He would do his best to provide them with as much time as they needed until he was sure they were safe.

Struggling to his feet, he found the strange woman standing in the doorway ominously. Odd, usually combatants took every advantage they could, was she pitying them? Or was she just playing with them before she really put in effort to kill them all? "If I leave you'll-"

"Get out of here!" Shirou shouted angrily, clenching his hands to fists as he faced the suit-clad woman. His sister twitched before motioning with her hands and murmuring a spell. The wall to Shirou's right liquified and dripped onto the floor. A hole appeared large enough for her to leap through to go find Rin. The suit-clad intruder hardly seemed to notice, eyes focused solely on the opponent that was going to put up a fight. Unceremoniously, Shirou cleared his throat and spat a glob of mucus and blood onto the floor. His eyes wandered behind the intruder to land of Kiritsugu's downed form. He was crumpled and limp in the corner. A large red patch of blood stained his front and dripped onto the floor. "Trace on."

It didn't take much more than a cursory glance to tell that the old man's organs had stopped. This assassin had killed him before he could even put up a good fight. Cursing himself, Shirou focused his tracing on his opponent. He could grieve after removing the threat, or after he died. She was a magus of about twenty-one years old. Exactly one hundred twenty-eight point five-five pounds and five point six-four feet tall.

Her entire outfit was laden with detailed magical runes. Comparing her suit to Kiritsugu's coat would be like comparing the Mona Lisa to a child's colouring book. He could trace his father's cloak, but if what happened to his hastily projected sword was any indication, imperfect creations were useless. He would need to go through his full aria before even attempting to project something to use. Shirou wouldn't say he was outclassed, he was never outclassed with a skillset like his, he just needed time. He already had a plan.

"Judging the concept of creation." While speaking the first line of his aria, Shirou filled the porous space of his muscles and bones with mana. Reinforcement was definitely something that he could do in the meantime. Now, he could receive and deliver blows without the risk of death from the first blow.

The two snapped forward to meet in the middle. Shirou elected to play defence, he had moved forward to keep his back away from the wall, being trapped would spell certain death. He needed to learn this woman's technique in a few seconds and then try to break it down to better defend himself. After blocking and redirecting three attacks, a space where he would have made a move of his own came up, a gap in her defence. Since he restrained himself, he had been able to catch the unexpected strike brought on by her knee. Setting his jaw in preparation, Shirou crossed his arms and forced them out to meet the blow head-on.

He rapidly came to the realization that her punches had been nothing compared to her kicks. The power behind her legs was at least double that of her arms. Unable to direct the force anywhere, he was forced to slide backwards on his bare feet all the way to the back wall of his room. A pins-and-needles type pain shot through both his forearms. The force behind that blow had actually disturbed and unwound the reinforcement in the area. Thankfully, it didn't take much more than a half second to restore the magecraft to its undamaged state. "Hypothesizing the basic structure, duplicating the composition material." Shirou had nothing he could use, he just needed to focus on completing his aria. After that, he could enact his plan. Raising both arms to shield his face, he stopped a flying kick from taking his head clean off his shoulders. Even reinforced, the bones in each forearm cracked with a disgusting noise.

The force sent him backwards further, out the exterior wall into the sloped front yard where he rolled backwards once before popping up onto his feet. "Imitating the skill of its making, sympathizing with the experience of its growth, reproducing the accumulated years," he murmured under his breath, sucking in lungfuls of the cool night air. Shooting pain was coursing up his arms and into his shoulders. Blocking any more attacks like that would break his arms. Only one more line to speak, then the image in his mind would be perfected. Shirou lowered his arms to spot the suit-clad woman staring down at him.

When the father-killer leapt from the hole in the wall, Shirou leapt to one side and ran around the side of the house. He needed a flat open area before he could even out the fight. Trying to fight the high ground probably wouldn't end well. Reaching the backyard, Shirou barely turned around before he had to catch a fist aimed for his kidneys. Holding onto her gloved hand, information flooded his mind. The exact construction, the imbued magecraft and her entire martial arts style became as well known to him as breathing. Tracing through sight took a lot more effort and wasn't as defined as tracing through touch.

Gray smoke and the scent of burning flesh wafted from the hand that had caught her glove and the two shared a look of mutual surprise. Neither had expected him to stop her fist. "Excelling every manufacturing process," he spoke directly into her face and golden sparks spewed from his body as the images in his mind worked to become reality.

Out of fear, the assassin leapt back from the sparking boy. In a second when the odd display ceased, there were two people wearing identical suits, in identical stances. The only difference between them was the colour of their hair and the expression on their faces.

The leather covering Shirou's gloves squeaked in anticipation. Just because he knew her martial arts style now didn't mean he really knew what was coming, it just meant he knew what she was capable of. She had a vast array of opening attacks which lead into combination moves that all changed fluidly depending on the situation. Trying to guess which attack she would lead with while simultaneously moving to counter was a wild guess with a slim chance of success.

Judging by the quality of the traced outfit alone, this woman was an incredible magus. She was twice as powerful as Rin or Illya and she clearly focused all of her ability in combat-worthy magecraft. The girls wouldn't stand a chance against her; Shirou was proud of his decision to let them retreat.

The woman snapped forward and Shirou was suddenly forced to counter attacks with twice the ruthless ferocity he had grown used to. The outfit he had copied thankfully matched his speed to the woman, which meant defending himself was significantly easier than it had been before. But just because he could move to intercept her blows now didn't make blocking them any easier. Each blow he defended sent a rattle through his bones out through his feet. The suit displaced the incoming energy much like Kiritsugu's coat so the attacks no longer threatened to shatter his bones.

Ten whole seconds of sustained hand-to-hand followed. The two used identical motions with similar footwork, giving the battle a sense of fluidity. The two slowly rotated around one another until their positions had been swapped. Even with all the grunts and expelled breath, nothing had been gained by either party. The two separated and the assassin paused as if evaluating the situation. Shirou tried deciphering something, anything from her eyes but found an empty wordless void within.

Even with his strength and defence on par with hers, his stamina definitely wasn't. The intruder didn't even seem winded while he was doing his best to take deep, controlled breaths to recover quicker. Shirou was running out of options. He didn't have any combat spells and anything he could project wouldn't work in this situation. She was too skilled in hand-to-hand, if he tried projecting a blade to help him out, she would slip under its range and he would be screwed.

If she was any good at her job, she would have realized he was using her own technique against her. She might have been thinking about how such a thing was even possible or how she could go against her own style to defeat what was essentially herself. She would mix it up, which was fine. She wasn't the only one that could change styles.

Taking the initiative and lunging forward, Shirou threw a feint-jab at her shoulder with his right fist. Moving to guard high, the assassin was unable to reverse the motion to cover her abdomen where Shirou's real strike had been aimed. With a grunt and a release of air, the woman leaned forward to better absorb the impact. Trying his best not to let an advantage escape him, Shirou wrapped his right arm around her neck. With his height and weight advantage working alongside a limit-reaching reinforcement, Shirou easily lifted the woman vertical and upside down before throwing her over his back. The two landed on the ground with a whump. The pained, breathless wheeze of the smaller individual revealed to Shirou that she could be harmed.

Rolling away and easing onto their feet, the two re-evaluated one another again. Shirou felt as if he wasn't even bruising the woman. Her form was absolutely perfect even though she had taken a direct blow to the stomach that would have surely ruptured her organs.

He knew this was a fight he couldn't win, but he had no idea just how badly he'd been outclassed. "Now!" came a shout from behind the assassin. The two combatants were confused and each looked in different directions to find the source of the voice. There was a sound of strain as the woman in the suit found her body constricted by blue wiring. It had been wrapped around her at least ten times and seemed to be doing a good enough job. Shirou began to realize what was going on and he started moving to capitalize on the moment before scrambling backwards as a glint in the night sky caught his eye.

Those were jewels flying through the air. Unlike the gems she had used against him earlier today, these gems were genuine and brilliant purple like Sakura's hair. If Rin had made some plan with gems, she was taking this seriously and was prepared to level the entire yard. Six feet above the suit-clad assassin, the gems exploded and showered her and the area in a fine mist of sparkles that glittered brilliantly in the moonlight.

Then the entire area erupted. Massive purple gems formed from the dust. There were dozens of segments and not a one was smaller than three feet wide. Jarring, inconsistent movements compressed these irregular jewels against their focus point, the pugilist trapped within. Shirou watched her collapse on one knee and crane over as the pressure bore down on her body.

With each compressing movement, crackling and shattering noises pierced the air. The jewels were breaking as they collapsed on the center point; the purpose of this spell wasn't to harm but to hold in place so the next attack could be lined up.

Shirou felt something wrap around his waist before tugging him backwards roughly. Snapping his head around to figure out what was going one, he realized that Illya had wrapped a thread from Storch Ritter around him. The beautiful bird construct flapped its powerful wings to tug him away from the jewel-jailed intruder. Glancing back at his former opponent, Shirou spotted four more sparkling gems flying through the air. The sword-like shapes of these were much more familiar to him.

Almost in slow motion, Shirou watched the sword-gems spin and dance in their path towards the imprisoned woman. When they were only a foot away, the crystalline cell burst in a spray of gem-dust. Still kneeling, Shirou noticed that the suit-clad assassin had managed to break out of Illya's bindings even while trapped by Rin. The sword-gems touched the woman on the back and all at once they exploded violently.

The force of the blast was intense, creating a massive fireball which scorched the surrounding area and blasted Shirou away even though he was already a considerable distance from the epicentre. The force of the explosion coupled with the tugging of Storch Ritter actually slammed his back into the stone wall which circled the perimeter of his home.

Thankfully, Shirou hadn't hit his head, which meant he was still mentally alert, he could still fight. Anger started to burn within him. Rin and Illya hadn't run, they had tried to join the fight. A sudden pit of despair bubbled up within him as thoughts began racing through his mind. That blast had been incredibly powerful, Rin had gone all out on charging those gems. Depending on the result, that could be extremely bad. If her attack hadn't killed the assassin, Rin would be defenceless and she would be the next target. Rin wouldn't have enough mana to cast a diversion spell or anything that could help her escape. After Rin, the assassin would turn to Illya.

Unless the gems had done their job and the intruder had died in the blast. Trying to move forward, Shirou found that Storch Ritter was still pulling him away. With some frustration, he projected a simple knife and tried to cut his bindings, only to find that he couldn't. Every time he ran his blade across the string, the metal of his projection sparked as if it were grinding off.

Illya hadn't used her hair as a medium then, she had put in as much effort as Rin and used steel cabling to form her constructs. It was likely the sole reason why the assassin had been bound long enough for their plan to work. Shirou heard a gasp which brought his attention forward. Standing in the fiery crater was the slouched form of a woman in a suit. One of the sleeves and the entire back section of her suit had been blown off. Surprisingly, the suit didn't burn. The edges of the pieces blown off were not charred, only torn. A line of fresh blood dripped down her face from her forehead and the few drops sizzling on the ground behind her meant her back had taken some abuse as well. If the murderous glare in her eyes was any indication, she was taking things seriously now.

Her eyes were locked onto Shirou but she suddenly looked off to her left. Following the motion himself, Shirou spotted the kneeling form of Rin. She was struggling with the simple task of lifting her arm. Using her other hand to assist and support, she eventually managed. Extending a pointer finger, a black orb of Gandr formed and fired. Due to the shakiness of her limb, the shot went wild and missed by a good meter.

The woman in burgundy clenched both her fists, taking long strides towards the Tohsaka magus. Just as suddenly as she began moving, she turned around to face an oncoming projectile. Illya was using Zelle to fire bullets of compressed magical energy in an attempt at halting the assassin. On anyone else, it might have been effective, but this woman simply reared one fist back and destroyed the projectile with a single punch. Shirou had known the attack would fail from the start. Her gloves were covered in magic-resisting runes. She could quite literally tear mana constructs and spells apart with her own two hands.

The assassin punched two more bullets out of the air before resuming her journey towards the downed Tohsaka mage. Illya obviously determined that she was ineffective. If his sister hadn't tied him up and dragged him away, Shirou might have been able to reach Rin in time to protect her. Searching his mind for something, anything, Shirou found a crossbow which fired arrows that nullified magical projections from Kiritsugu's armoury. Tracing it into his open hand, he casually fired the bolt into the airborne Storch Ritter. With a shrieking cry of metal-on-metal, the bird construct broke apart and the mana weaved around its steel cable construction flickered away.

Without something tugging him away, Shirou sprinted towards Rin in a vain attempt at reaching her before the suit-clad woman. There were about six steps between the Tohsaka and this assassin, and thirty between her and Shirou. There was no way he would reach her in time but he had to. If he didn't she would die and it would be his fault. He needed something to distract the assassin, to pull her away from Rin just long enough to make her focus on him. He needed a way to strike from a range, something that could scare her or even overwhelm her. A single thrown sword was just an annoyance; a dozen flying at once might do it.

Something in his mind clicked and the dim glow of Avalon suddenly illuminated his entire mind with radiant gold. Like a blindfold being lifted, everything became clear. If he considered the world as a three-dimensional grid-space of X, Y and Z coordinates, he could project at specific areas away from him, like in the air above his head. Since he had the starting point and the destination, he could perform trigonometry and mathematical calculations to determine the magnitude and direction of the velocity required. He could quite literally launch blades as if he were Gilgamesh using Gate of Babylon.

A dozen blades converging on someone all at once was certainly enough to at least make them back off and consider their options.

His mind found blade after blade and began editing their properties. It didn't matter what any of the weapons were, so long as they were sharp, he would use them. Kitchen knives, industrial equipment and actual antiquated swords he had seen on his trip to the museum for school all queued up to receive coordinates. Weapons he had only seen in pictures or on TV also formed within his mind. Shirou personally called these objects "hollow". Since he could only extrapolate the visual component of the weapon, that was all he had to go on. They were visually threatening but they had the overall durability of thin eggshells. They shattered like glass from the slightest touch. It didn't matter if they didn't actually hurt her, it was the threat Shirou wanted.

As if being pumped out one by one in a factory, blades checked themselves off and prepared to be actualized. With his aria still in effect, weapons materialized out of golden sparks and began hovering horizontally in the middle of the air. A few of them were far from perfect due to the speed of their creation. Shirou felt an instant heat bubble up from his core and spread through his entire body. This was sucking an exorbitant amount of mana to perform, hopefully, it would work.

The blades hovered in the air for a brief moment, checking themselves over before flinging towards the destined target like oversized bullets. "Get away from her!" Shirou shouted in blind rage as his projections closed the distance. The intruder turned her head and body to prepare for a threat.

Her eyes widened in surprise as more than a dozen different weapons all converged on her location with equally randomized speed. In mid-flight, the weapons shook and wavered. Some of them veered off to impale the ground prematurely or even flung off wildly into the star-filled sky. Errors in his grid system or his calculations most likely. Only three of the fifteen fired actually landed where Shirou had intended. Four had landed around the assassin's general area while the rest hadn't even been close. Thankfully, the effect had been enough to dissuade the assassin. She leapt and distanced herself from the downed magus.

Staring at the boy with wild eyes, the assassin seemed unsure of what to do with herself now. She obviously hadn't expected sword-based projectiles. Shirou continued running, standing valiantly in front of Rin with his eyes locked on the slightly wounded combatant. It wouldn't take much for the assassin to re-engage, he had to be on his toes.

"You idiot," Rin coughed, trying to stand with obvious effort. "I was trying to save you, you should have taken Illya and ran."

"Save me? I was the one trying to save you!" Shirou whipped his head to glance at the trembling Tohsaka.

"What are you talking about!? Why would you sacrifice yourself like that?"

"What were you just trying to do then?" Shirou pointed out, getting a few stumbling syllables from the magus.

The suit-clad assassin slowly dropped her stance. Her arms fell to the side and her back straightened, giving her a professional appearance. She was watching the two teens bicker over who was more suited to sacrifice themselves for the safety of the others with a raised eyebrow.

Just as Rin preparing to formulate an actual response, the sound of clapping stripped the attention of everyone away. Searching for the source, Shirou found it coming from inside the house behind Illya. This was perfect, the assassin had an accomplice and Illya was defenceless. Judging by the frozen statue-like position of the albino, she was terrified.

Shirou reached into his mind to try creating more sword projectiles but after the first two, his circuits crackled, sending searing jolts of pain through his extremities. He was out of mana and it looked like his body had been running on reserves for quite a while now. Two antique swords appeared in the air over his shoulders, but they wavered and shook as if unsure of their purpose. The boy collapsed onto one knee with a grunt, gritting his teeth in stubborn determination.

The clapping continued from within, nearing the glass doorway that had been shattered in Rin's attack. In a few seconds, the still-bloodied figure of Kiritsugu stepped down onto the scorched grass of his formerly pristine backyard. "I hadn't expected you to cause so much damage, but success is success in whatever form it takes." A smile spread across his face as he used one hand to rustle the hair of his daughter.


Someone asked me if I had a goal when it came to this fic.

Absolutely! My one and only goal is to land on the front page of Fate/StayNight fanfictions for at least one of the three criteria within the 60k word range. Either most reviews, favourites or follows. Then and only then will I be truly satisfied with my work! It's why I continually push all my viewers to review, favourite and follow as often as I can without trying to be obnoxious. Review help me develop the story and communicate with my readers while the follows and favourites inspire me to write more to please my fans.

After speaking to some of the reviewers in depth, I've determined that I've been sticking to the reality of Type-Moon pretty well. Certain minor infractions for the express purpose of story development have been made, but as I've been told, not even Type-Moon abides to all the rules of Type-Moon.

Like usual, the amount of free time I have is ludicrous. I'm about one-third of the way through the next chapter but I don't expect it to be finished any time soon. I'd expect maybe two weeks or something mainly because I'd really like to nail down Bazett's personality and determine where I want Shirou to progress from this point forward. As far as I know, Bazett is a finicky balance between sarcasm, cold professionalism and badassery. Is that a word? Is now. I've never read/seen Hollow Ataraxia so I'm really just shooting in the dark.

Ah well. I'll probably be able to pull it off. Remember to favourite, follow and leave a review with your thoughts! To stimulate you into reviewing, I'll leave you with another question. (Keep in mind that the results may or may not alter the outcome of the fic.)

Between the four women closest to Shirou (Saber, Sakura, Illya and Rin), which would you choose to be sacrificed/betrayed for the greater good? The remaining three not sacrificed will live full lives (Including Saber and Illya) but each one knows of the betrayal.